The Requiem of Seasons : Book One, Spring
by radiant requiem
Summary: The world is at peace. Nations in harmony, at least for the time being... When a city is attacked and children left orphaned to find their own way, they embark on a once-in-a-lifetime adventure...
1. The Meeting

.the requiem of seasons

_book one: spring_

_This fanfiction is based upon the world of Nickelodeon's "Avatar: The Last Airbender". Before continuing you should know that I am not claiming to own any of its material. This is a work of fiction based upon its universe, created only by a fan. _

_That said, you should know that all of the characters you knew and loved from the series Aang, Sokka, Katara, Zuko, Azula, Iroh, etc never existed and never will in this world- consider it an alternate universe with the same locations, same bending styles, same culture, same animal life… but characters and events that happened in the canon storyline Death of the Air Nomads, Fire Nation's Attack never existed here either and the Air Nomads do still exist. All cities that were burned to the ground or suffered somesuch fate are still standing unless otherwise stated._

_Due to this you have no reason to be afraid of spoilers in the pages to come_

_Crud, that was 157 words of mumbo-jumbo. Well, here goes!_

.the meeting

"God damn it, God damn it!"

A thick boot, leather, splashed awkwardly in a puddle of melted snow. Water shot up and soiled the back of his indigo parka; staining the white seal fur that lined the neck. A bookbag was slung over his shoulder, a paper casually flying out ever other minute.

"Stupid Haruhi, never getting me up on time…"

He continued down the sun-bathed streets of Sakuramura; the city of Flower Petals. Its namesake was, of course, the countless amount of cherry blossom trees that seemed to always be in bloom. This particular time of spring was no exception and the pink panorama embellished the white landscape.

Like the other towns at the South Pole, the residents did live in igloos and, for the less fortunate, small tents. Snow also covered the ground three hundred and sixty five days a year, although at this time of the year it was considerably sparser. The city was well-organized, each frozen home divided by fences, each one with an address. Foliage, aside from the ever-present Cherry Blossom Trees, was nonexistent. Roads were paved, although the asphalt was completely covered with snow in the colder months.

He turned a sharp corner and took a deep breath, huffing and puffing. The frigid air stung his throat, but he paid it no heed.

"If I don't make it to school soon then teacher's gonna-" But the boy never got to finish his sentence, since he spontaneously lost his footing in an unprecedented manner and fell to the ground. He knew that he had most likely stepped and tripped in a puddle- but he could have sworn that it was the water that tripped him, almost like it _moved._

Of course that was possible.

Waterbending; the art of manipulating water to one's own will or "the divine ability to halt water", as it was once described, is an art known by about a tenth of the nation's population in its most basic form, even though they say most people could learn it. Then again, this particular boy never managed to quite get the hang of it and abandoned at an early age.

His bookbag collapsed with a thud not long after him, and a thick textbook slid out and skidded across the ground in the water, landing at the base of a pair of dark blue boots. Noticing the footwear, the boy scowled immediately.

"Well well, if it isn't _Hayate._" Came a flowing, sophisticated voice. The cringing, wet child on the floor slowly got up at the mention of his name. "Kiro." He mumbled, much to the other child's acclaim.

"Amazing! It appears the scientists at the zoo have taught the specimen to repeat two syllables. Technology these days…"

The newcomer named Kiro extended his right arm and gracefully moved it towards himself, causing the water at Hayate's feet to ripple madly, causing the boy to fall to the ground again. "_Floor _seats to my graduation. That's right, I'm going to finally move to Water Bending Degree Two… Only prodigies can do that, you know." He smirked. "No, you wouldn't."

Hayate wanted to do nothing more at that moment than dismember Kiro, the bastard who never knew when to shut up for his own good. "You see, my parents were wealthy enough to send me to a prestigious Water-Bending Academy, while you go to a _commoner's _schoolhouse. Learning low-class mathematics and pathetic geography while not even considering how to bend the water that surrounds us all is just about the saddest excuse for a living I think I've ever had the misery of-"

Hayate couldn't contain his unconditional anger any longer, and leapt up, fists outstretched and ready to inflict pain. He attempted to strike Kiro in the right cheek but the defending party parried by simply side-stepping. Frustrated, Hayate reached under a nearby fence to remove a stick that had fallen from a Cherry Blossom tree. The exotically-coloured appendages, petals, were still attached. Lunging viciously, the boy attempted to strike the other child in a fit of rage. Kiro seemed to expect this, though, and immediately flipped his hands so that his palms faced upwards. He slowly dragged them upwards to the point that they were above eye level. Hayate's makeshift blade was now heading towards a solid wall of water, which had risen at the same momentum as Kiro's arms and appeared to have been drawn from the same puddle Hayate fell in.

In a demonstration of pride and minor skill, Kiro pushed both of his arms forwards in a swaying motion, causing the erected water to collapse forward and blast straight into Hayate, in turn causing him to once more tumble to the ground, drenched. Snow crept underneath his collar and sent chills up his spine. Bruises, scrapes and small cuts littered his skin while Kiro didn't seem harmed in the slightest. The boy managed to inspect his opponent further now, Kiro still seeming as maleficent as ever. Jet-black hair fell loosely above his shoulders and his outfit was his Academy's uniform- a black parka over a button-up white shirt, pants as ebony as the jacket and azure boots that shone stunningly.

His face was what truly created an unsettling feeling in Hayate's stomach; thin, wiry but stylish glasses were propped upon his nose, masking his onyx eyes somewhat. His mouth almost always bent into a sardonic, sadistic smirk.

A smirk that Hayate had seen in his nightmares one too many times.

Hayate was more than ready to get up and continue the battle, the now-soaking stick still clutched in his right palm. He would have gotten up then and there, but he suddenly noticed the petals… The petals once attached to the stick falling up and rising into the air in a haunting manner. Hayate's heart skipped a beat; what was going on?

The wooden rod didn't have much pink still attached, six or seven petals at most… But floating in the air there were at least thirty, forty, fifty… The numbers kept rising to the point that they were impossible to count. What was Kiro going to do to him now?

The answer was nothing, of course, for Kiro was as terrified as Hayate, with absolutely no idea what was going on. And the petals kept on coming. Soon, a commanding but feminine voice filled the air, causing a ripple of horror to run up both Hayate and Kiro's spines.

"Kiroushi Hironaka; second degree Waterbender. You've soiled our name." The disembodied voice didn't cease its scolding and the petals in the air now seemed to have created a sphere around Hayate and Kiro. "The name of Water Bender, the name of the royal family Sakurajin. The name of Sakuramura…" And all of a sudden, the petals ceased all sort of movement, almost as though time had been frozen. "And as such, you will have to suffer the proper punishment."

Immediately the petals withered and died; so quickly that a blink would have caused a person to miss the entire ordeal as dried sheets of pink fluttered to the ground, graceful even in death. What was left, of course, was massive amounts of water. The water within the petals and the water that coated them after their recent encounter of the wet kind. Water where the petals once were, still encompassing Hayate and Kiro. All of a sudden, tendrils of liquid appeared from random areas of the sphere and encircled Kiro's wrists and ankles, binding him. The boy gasped, and then attempted to break free but to absolutely no avail; he couldn't bend water at all in his current condition.

The rest of the water spilled to the floor in a vicious torrent, freeing Hayate although quenching him in the process. Still bound from four corners, the tendrils once attached to the sphere of water itself now tied Kiro to a cherry blossom tree, his back pressed against the bark.

Eventually, the loudmouth exploded. "WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS?! DO YOU KNOW WHAT I CAN DO TO YOU? MY FATHER'S A CITY COUNSELOUR! I COULD GET YOU ARRESTED!" Hayate was ignoring Kiro thoroughly, much more distressed with the fact that they had an invisible assailant. Kiro continued his hysterics, and it probably would have taken a miracle to make him cease his tirade.

A creaking noise, the creaking of something lacking oil, was all that it took. From across the street a pure white fence door opened and out stepped their assailant.

Needless to say that their attacker wasn't quite what they anticipated.

A silken, elegant kimono fell to the floor, billowing with the wind. The robe was a regal blue hue with a fuchsia flower painted on the left breast. The wearer also bore casual sandals; but it wasn't the clothing that was so out of the ordinary, rather the wearer. A young girl, no older than the age of twelve, smiled innocently. Her black hair fell loosely behind her back, only to be tied up twenty centimetres before its end, leaving a small portion of hair beneath the tie.

Her voice was innocent and young, nothing like the one they heard earlier.

"My father could have you executed." She chuckled innocently yet again. "Mitsukai Sakurajin, member of the _prestigious_ Sakurajin family. Nice to meetcha." In a courteous bow, she now had Kiro and Hayate absolutely dumbfounded.

She continued. "But all my friends call me Sukai, pronounced "Sky". Rolls off the tongue better, doesn't it?" Once more her smile was hauntingly innocent and childish. "Also, I forgot to mention… I'm a novice petal bender and a fourth degree Waterbender." As she continued speaking, her voice lost a bit of its formal tone and gained a somewhat agitated sound, with an intimidating undertone, reminiscent of the powerful voice they heard earlier.

Kiro roared out of fury that was bottled up for so long. "But you're just a stupid kid! How can you be fourth degree when someone as talented as myself is just a secon-" But Sukai had waved her hand slowly, causing water to cover Kiro's mouth and seal it shut, an oral blindfold. "Boy, you really talk a lot, don't you?"

Hayate was still unnerved. There was no way that this little girl could have feasibly feigned such a deep voice. Was there someone else here? All of a sudden, he heard that voice again. The deep, bellowing voice.

"You are a very boring child…" It echoed. His heart skipped a beat and Sukai burst out laughing. As it turned out, Sukai had a ball of water levitating above her mouth and, as she spoke, the water seemed to make her voice far deeper than it usually was.

Hayate was both relieved and frustrated. As Sukai calmed her hysterics to a chuckle, she couldn't help but ask "So, after all… What's your name?" Hayate responded, and she cocked her head to the side. "Hayate, hm? Weird name. Can't say I've ever heard it before."

The slip of water that covered Kiro's mouth vanished as the boy managed to release one of his arms and tear it off. "Oh you are in for it now, you obnoxious little-" Of course he didn't get to finish, since Sukai just repair the binding. Hayate almost felt bad for him. "This Kiro kid's a nightmare. Even though he was at the top of his class and his father's an important city counsellor, I never thought he'd be such a loser."

Hayate was curious. How did she know so much about Kiro? She seemed to read his mind as she answered; seemingly anticipating that he'd ask sooner or later. "Every six months, at water bending graduation ceremonies, five people from the nobility are supposed to attend. That means us, o' course. It's tradition for the Sakurajin to welcome each graduate to the podium with a small speech about the student's accomplishments, but to do that I have to know about pretty much all of the students. I was supposed to welcome this Kiro twerp."

Hayate nodded. "And you, Hayate? 'Re you a bender?" He shook his head mournfully. "No." Was all that he needed to say.

They stood in silence for a few moments, hearing only the muffled noise of Kiro's wails from behind a fabric of water. Eventually Sukai sighed and turned to face him. "Well, as much fun as it is seeing you suffocate… Your grad's in a few minutes and dad'll kill me if I don't show. So I suppose I have to let you free." Her feet were perfectly parallel and she reached both arms forwards, palms raised. Gracefully, she moved her right arm to her right and her left arm to her left, then clenching both fists, causing Kiro's trap to fall apart.

The boy crashed to the ground, gasping for air before staring at Sukai viciously, eyes narrowed. "You are going to Hell in a handbasket, obnoxious witch." Sukai only chuckled and smiled before responding. "Prolly…" She began, "but my handbasket'll be a lot prettier than yours." She turned around, and began walking down a paved path. "See you two at the graduation ceremony!"

Kiro smirked and glared at Hayate. "She won't be seeing _you _there. We'll finish this another time." Sprinting after Sukai, Kiro sped towards the ceremony he had been looking forward to for a very long time.

Hayate just frowned, first looking down the road that would lead to his class for which he was very late, and the one that led to the graduation ceremony.

Hesitantly, he made a decision.


	2. The Ceremony

.chapter two, the ceremony

Hayate rushed down the road walked recently by Sukai and Kiro as they made their way to the biannual Waterbender Academy's Graduation Ceremony. He took in a deep breath while turning a sharp corner.

The boy ran into a few people on his way there, but overall it was simple to locate. The Graduation was to be held at the Hissorino Yume Falls, a massive plume that towered above Sakuramura. Directly in front of it was a huge disk of ice that floated in its basin, where people tended to gather for special events. Not surprisingly, this was also the location for the Graduation Ceremony.

An interesting fact about the Hissorino Yume falls: while countless gallons of water come crashing down at unfathomable speeds with amazing force, it never seems to create any noise. In an ancient dialect, it appears as though its name meant "Whisper of Dreams".

Hayate smirked as he approached the disc of ice, noticing that there were still many vacant seats that weren't branded with a conspicuous slip of paper marked "reserved". Casually, he took a seat in the seventh row, able to see the podium well enough despite his distance.

People continued entering the outdoor stage, contrast incredible between some of them. While many were clothed in regal attire, billowing dresses and hand-ironed suits, others were barely clothed at all with virtually only rags to cover them.

A few moments afterwards, a short, stout man came to the podium and began yelling. From his seat closer to the back, Hayate could hear little.

"Fellow Citizens of Sakuramura, proud parents of graduates and graduates of course," came the voice, "we are gathered here today in order to promote skilled individuals to a higher rank, to a grade where they can be considered defenders of the city, protectors of the land, guardians of the City of Flower Petals!" The man seemed irritated all of a sudden. "However, the acoustics out here seem to be rather horrible."

He took a step back and with unprecedented enthusiasm and speed raised his arms and clenched his fists high above his head, causing all of the water surrounding the platform of ice that they were standing on to encompass it in a sphere of ice; the water freezing immediately. The outdoor location now seemed reminiscent of a stadium, with the ice distorting the image of the Hissorino Yume falls behind, creating a mysterious effect. He heaved a heavy sigh, and began speaking normally. To everyone's surprise, it was now far easier to hear him.

"As mayor of this proud city I pass the right of speech to a gifted young child, "Sakuramura's Jewel" as she has become known. Prodigy of the Sakurajin family, Mitsukai Sakurajin!" Upon hearing the name of the girl he had just met, Hayate was intrigued. Was the little twerp really so powerful?

He could make out her petite form as she stood up on stage and coughed once or twice. "Um… Hello." She began, not in the most elegant of ways. Her voice was now meek and childish, as though she were intentionally trying to appear innocent and helpless. "I am sure you are all aware of the challenges I, as the Sakurajin prodigy, was to face over the years. With of course the passing of my beloved mother in the great battle of the Camellia to my baby brother's own attempted suicide, petal bending was my only way…" But Hayate was tuning out. All of the old women and female graduates were crying tears of sincere sadness while husbands and younger men just rolled their eyes at the obviously exaggerated sob story.

He looked around; people were still entering the stadium. Many seats were still available, so he assumed most of the people would arrive later and skip the pointless banter.

As Sukai stepped off of the podium, met with applause and tears, another man stepped up and began his tale. The line was extremely long, there must have been at least thirty people left with some very long speeches themselves.

Six, seven more people completed their sermons, but at this point Hayate realized that he was better off in class. His heart skipped a beat as he turned around and felt faint, all the while laughing at the inner irony that _his teacher and entire homeroom class entered. _

He was able to spot his older sister Haruhi, but dove for cover before anyone could see him. There were still at least twenty people to go and he couldn't remain here for that much longer. Then again, he couldn't just leave either, seeing as they would be bound to notice him… Instead, he sunk into his seat, looking as invisible as possible.

--

The speeches seemed to multiply in time and blandness, but after what seemed like several lifetimes the final speaker left the stage, making room once more for Sukai. She still wore her innocent face that concealed an inner demon, and Hayate smirked at the mental image.

"As prodigy of the Sakurajin family, I shall begin awarding these fine students their certificates." Thunderous applause ensued, and Hayate realized he was home free. However, shivers haunted his cowering spine as a glacial hand met his shoulder blade. He looked up at the disgusted face of Mrs. Ouren, his teacher, who seemed incredibly enraged.

Thinking on his feet, Hayate knew he had to get out of there as fast as possible since excuses never worked with this monster of a human being. Jumping from his seat, he sprinted for the exit and ran through Sakuramura's streets, not looking back.

Eventually, when he was at least half a kilometre away from the makeshift stadium he stopped to catch his breath. Good; it seemed as though he wasn't being pursued. He inhaled deeply once or twice, but on the third attempt coughed in a raspy tone. Smoke; there was smoke in the air, and he breathed some in. That wasn't all that uncommon, of course, seeing as the climate often welcomed bonfires and fireplaces with open arms, but it was definitely uncomfortable.

If possible, though, Hayate swore that while all the other smoke smelt honest and quaint, each one from its own little corner of the city, this smoke smelt dark and malicious, unnatural to a point. He dismissed the thought.

And then there was the first blast.


	3. The Siege

.chapter three, the siege

It was deafening.

The sound of a cannonball being shot, piercing the air, and the awful noise of impact. Hayate stood still, paralyzed by fear. From the explosion, snow rose into the air and created a pseudo-smokescreen, blocking all sight. When it finally cleared, however, his jaw hit the floor out of awe and terror.

The cannonball in question was in fact a massive stone, and it smashed directly into the headquarters of a large company, which, as most other corporate buildings, was forged mostly of ice. Chunks of the building began falling off to the roads below. Citizens scurried out of the way but Hayate just stared, wide-eyed, ahead of him.

Dozens of tanks coloured deep green were approaching ominously. On each side of each tank was a gold circle, inside of which was a square. He knew that he recognized the symbol but didn't have the time to pinpoint it at that very moment, since another tank had just shot yet another boulder. Beside, behind and in front of the tanks were many foot soldiers, hundreds at least. They didn't carry weapons but wore long robes that seemed to resemble Sukai's kimono. Some of them wore pure white face paint.

A few more rocks were released and Hayate came to his senses, ducking behind a massive slab of ice, now dislocated from the larger building. As he peeked out his stomach tied itself in a knot at the sight of the foot soldiers kicking stones into the air, punching rocks, like miniature tanks in themselves. Earthbenders, no doubt.

He felt another explosion above him and watched in terror as a huge mass of ice collapsed to the ground only feet away from him. Horrified, he crouched in the fetal position, cowering and covering his eyes. He saw only darkness, heard only screams, smelt only smoke…

And then, pink.

As he opened his eyes a very little bit, he saw a lone pink flower petal flutter about before him. Then two, five, then ten. Their multiplication was ceaseless and he marvelled as the sounds of death and terror came to a gradual halt. The tanks held fire and all stared in absolute awe at what would be the last sight of many.

Sakuramura's Petalbenders had arrived.

---

"The ceiling!"

Hayate's older sister, Haruhi, was the first to notice and screamed. A massive boulder had crashed into the dome's circular roof, causing a massive fissure to draw itself upon the walls of ice and branch out quickly, lining it with smaller cracks. The distorted shape of the Hissorino Yume falls became even stranger. Another blast, and it was now clear that the whole thing was going to crash down on them. Citizens panicked madly, avoiding falling chunks of ice and making for the exit, Haruhi leading them. The mayor, sensing the danger, quickly waved his arms, spinning around, reverting the ice from solid to liquid before it could cause any damage, and as it was falling, he changed it to gas. The smokescreen created dissipated in a moment.

Sukai, still on stage, Kiro, right about to accept his certificate, and Haruhi, sprinting for an exit that was no longer there, gulped.

About ten tanks were on the mainland surrounding the basin, and a message was shouted through a bullhorn by one of the vehicles' drivers. "Surrender yourselves now and no one needs to be harmed." As though resistance wasn't even an option, he continued. "All of you, single file." People stared at each other nervously, then at the mayor who seemed to be breaking out in a cold sweat. "Single file." Came the commanding voice once more. "I won't say it again."

The mayor nodded, the civilians complied and like birds on a wire stood one behind another. Kiro stood behind Sukai and scowled. "Didn't even get my certificate…The Earth Kingdom, who would have thought?" He asked no one in particular. Sukai frowned. "Earth Kingdom? How'd you know?"

"Well, aside from the fragging huge _rock _that almost turned us to sawdust and the Earth Nation's symbol on the side of the tanks… I recognized that guy's subtle accent. " He spat back, sarcastically.

Immediately, an Earthbender stepped out of a tank and, stomping barbarically, thrust his arms forward, releasing a chunk of earth that acted as a bridge to fill the gap between the mainland and the floating disk of ice. This allowed the civilians to cross to the city. Just as Haruhi, who was first in line, was about to take a step, Sukai stepped out of it and swung both of her arms down, enough to submerge the stone bridge. She then replaced it with her own bridge, made of ice, which she fashioned in a rather impromptu manner. Flicking a loose strand of hair out of her face, she smirked. "We'll cross our own bridge, thanks." She slipped her hand into a pocket and drew a flower petal, letting it flutter about in the air towards the mainland. It was peculiar; the letters S and M were written on it.

"What the Hell are you thinking?" Kiro spat in a sideways manner, to which Sukai responded "Shut up, I'm stalling." The booming voice from the bullhorn once more made its presence known. "You're in no position to do anything like that. Remove the block of ice right now." The Petal Bender sneered. "Make me."

Furious, another earthen projectile shattered the bridge of ice and promptly replaced it with one of stone, which Sukai demolished yet again. The cycle continued for about a minute, until the Earthbenders understandably lost patience and swore blasphemously into their loudspeakers. In a violent and spontaneous command, every tank fired at once.

Holes now dotted the floating platform, but the sheer force of the impact sent all people near flying into the water. People swam frantically to shore, while others, who simply couldn't, lay permanently at the seafloor's bottom.

"Ugh!" Groaned Kiro, his lungs filled to the brim with water. He coughed while attempting to stay afloat in the powerful current. He began swimming towards the shore, but cursed when a wave sent more water down his throat. Gasping and coughing, he was swept over by an enormous wall of water before crashing painfully and face first onto what was left of the platform.

"Oh, sorry 'bout that." Sukai's sweet yet sardonic voice seemed unsuited to the situation. She placed her hands again at her sides, demonstrating that it was clearly her that fashioned the aforementioned wave. "C'mon, we have some more time to kill."

"What the _Hell _are you talking about?" Blurted Kiro. He stood up, drenched. Removing his glasses, he pointed with the bifocals towards the shore where all of the survivors including Hayate's sister were lead away solemnly. "Well, I guess they won't kill all those people, if they were going to, they'd have done it just now. Not that it's that much of a big deal; it's us that I'm worried about." Sukai frowned.

"Listen, Kiro, I only pulled you out of that mess 'cause you're a Waterbender. I can take these guys on my own but I might need backup at some point so-" Just as she finished her sentence, however, a huge crash shook the floor. They both collapsed on their knees to the ice. Another stone had appeared from nowhere, and they rolled haphazardly as to avoid being crushed.

"Of course you realize," she began, spinning around to summon a levitating mass of water from Hissorino Yume's plume, "this means war."

Thrusting her palms forward the water slammed directly into a tank across the lake, causing it to topple over backwards and roll over a few times before returning to its initial upright position.

Violently, five more stones were blasted in a simultaneous manner, which Sukai slit in two with water sharp as a knife before they even came close; shards of the rocks fell into the basin.

However, the Petal Bender seemed to be tiring after a few minutes of this. The tanks' ceaseless barrage seemed to be getting even more powerful and vicious. The countless boulders were getting closer and closer but Sukai didn't give up, she had no blind spot. All of a sudden, however, a blast came from a tank that had been quiet on the opposite end of the platform, and Sukai, not expecting it, felt it skim her kimono. She stood frozen in her posture, mortified that with only one foot in another direction and the stone would have taken her life.

At this point Kiro rose. "Pssh." He rolled his eyes. "You're a joke. Class four, and you couldn't even stop that? Watch this." He drew water and attempted to do so gracefully, but the attempt was foiled as the liquid that rose vibrated awkwardly in the air with his unsure motions of the hand. On turn, he propelled his right and left arms forward, causing the water to overturn the closest tank, which quickly righted itself once more. He swore.

Another stone shot from behind skimmed Kiro's uniform, a jagged edge tearing the delicate black parka. He was frozen in the same likeness as Sukai, feeling death's cold, prying fingers slit his flesh and grasp for his throat but loosen at the last moment.

"Kiro." Sukai commanded un-charismatically. "Duck." The boy was about to protest but the serious, intimidating glint in the twelve-year old's eye and the massive stone about to take off his head convinced him to comply.

In turn, Sukai pulled open her kimono by tearing off the obi belt that was tied around it at the waist. Underneath, a white, long-sleeved shirt appeared alongside deep navy pants, clothing that was much less traditional and elegant than the silken kimono but far more practical and comfortable. In the left breast pocket of her kimono she removed what seemed to be a chain about four feet in length that must've been rather heavy to carry around constantly. At four random points in the chain were small glass spheres filled an unknown substance coloured pink, hanging loosely off the metal.

She smirked and parried a few more blows, chain in hand, before violently and powerfully tossing it like a shot put into the air. Kiro watched it as it swivelled around in the sky on itself, before coming to an eventual halt in the middle of the heavens; halfway to the mainland, and probably as far as Mitsukai Sakurajin's little arms could throw. It remained suspended in mid-air by Sukai's clenched fist, and she continued her ritual.

Thrusting her palms outwards to the side the vials of glass shattered in an earsplitting crash, the chain falling to the water below and several hundred small, pink flower petals raining down upon them, released from their glass prisons, in a graceful and dreamlike manner. "Just what", Kiro said aloud to no one in particular, "is she trying to pull?"

All of a sudden her calm, sturdy stance changed as she leaned forwards on a bent knee, raising her arms as a demented maestro. Immediately, the flower petals that were still in the air collapsed into the water and then every single one rose a good three feet above it, covered in ice. Kiro smirked. "Phase Swapping, duh. A Waterbender's ability to change water's phase, the ability to have it pass from liquid to solid to gas in seconds. If she's going to do what I think she's going to do then…"

Sukai smiled a malicious smile and, spinning around while flailing her arms, sent them shooting forwards in every direction. Like a tempest of teeth the mandibles of ice masticated the metal tanks, shredding their outer shell. With another attack the cannons were severed and the caterpillars permitting their movement utterly annihilated. Completely useless, the hunks of metal just sat there with the commanders in absolute disbelief. Exhausted and exasperated, Sukai dropped her stance, letting the flower petals fall and shatter to the ground before collapsing willingly herself onto the harsh platform of ice.

Kiro raised himself, shivering from adrenaline, fear and excitement. "Don't sweat it, you did okay, but I'll finish them off." Sukai's eyes widened; she had done all that was necessary- destroying their means of easy escape and the only part of them that posed a physical threat, they were no longer dangerous… Was Kiro intending to _kill _them?

She watched as the boy took his stance. He stood, then leaned backwards and stretched his arms out to his sides, after which he slowly angled forward. Waves, small but sure and growing, splashed up beneath the motionless tanks on the shore and ended up pulling them down into the gelid waters. Slowly they began sinking beneath but their drivers abandoned ship with much time to spare, allowing their machines fall while making it away with little pride but, more importantly, their lives. They began swimming for their lives towards the shore but Kiro, not one to allow prey to escape so easily, created a torrent, trying to drown the men, or at least make their feat as difficult as possible.

Nine of them made it cleanly, dripping wet and stumbling away in an awkward gallop towards the city's heart. One of them was a bit slower however, and had inhaled a bit too much water which added to his sluggishness. Kiro scowled, but created an intricate choreography of choppy water which led the man towards him. The young boy grabbed him by the collar and raised his head a foot or so above the water. He was breathing, panting heavily, and his jacket was freezing and dripping wet.

"Now," he began, "What do I do with you?" Malevolently and to Sukai's horror, he looked at half of a rock that had fallen on a platform and smiled. "Oh yes, I know just the thing…"

Dropping some water onto the platform underneath the demi-boulder, he slowly willed the stone closer with the water's pull. Afterwards he scryed through the water mentally and found Sukai's chain, then pulled it up to the shore. Using a sharp, powerful stream of water he cut a hole inside the rock and threaded the chain through it, like a bead. The soldier yelled in terror as Kiro tied the other end of the chain around his wrist and laughed.

"Sorry, but this is what happens when you make such a catastrophic error, such as attacking me." He slowly began pushing the heavy stone towards the water. "You wanted us dead, so you deserve nothing less than this." Just as he was about to drop the rock into the gelid lake, he uttered a final farewell. "Goodnight, sleep tight. Death will be slow and painful, so there's something you can look forward to." Sukai was mortified at how inhumane and monstrous the boy was but simply did not have the energy to do anything about it. In one final push the stone was below sea level and it quickly carried down the man attached to the other end of the chain.

The sadistic boy chuckled. "Had it coming." He looked over to the angry Sukai. "That takes care of the Earth Soldiers, too bad you didn't really do anything… Let's face it, without me around, they'd have _killed _you and-" It was about now that Kiro noticed her expression, and raised an eyebrow inquisitively. "What is it?" Sukai said nothing at first, and the air was still with the sound or lack thereof of Hissorino Yume's plume. "Forget it. Just get us back to the city." The boy nodded and, waterbending a circle underneath the platform, cut off a massive, circular chunk of ice which he dragged Sukai onto and stepped on himself.

The girl was lying like a rag doll on her back, completely drained, while Kiro stood waving his arms back and forth slowly, guiding the makeshift boat. As the captain wasn't looking, Sukai struggled onto her knees and picked up one flower petal that had fallen onto the platform in her hand. She dropped it into the water and froze it once more, resuscitating the razor-sharp edge. Guiding it mentally, constantly panting, she swept her arm in a vicious manner.

She smiled sincerely as she felt the resistance of metal, and when she felt said resistance give way and was convinced that the chain was now severed, she collapsed on her back.

Inhaling deeply as she stared at the rolling clouds, she waited a minute before speaking up. "We're going the wrong way." She eventually announced. "I know." Kiro answered. "The city's probably under attack or something, so we need to get somewhere a bit quieter." Just as he finished his sentence a loud thunk was heard as the rim of their vehicle collided with dry land. "Last stop, princess, everybody off."

---

Hayate stared in awe as about thirty men and women of all ages, shapes and sizes arrived at the scene, all dressed in the exact same ornate attire as Sukai, and petals flew everywhere. As they danced with grace, the pink flower petals soared around and then took on an icy, cutting edge. Viciously and quickly the tanks were torn apart, metal demolished as though it were but paper. The Earthbenders' clothing was torn to shreds. Drops of blood tainted the white snow beneath from the cuts sustained. In moments, the battle was no longer entirely one-sided.

Stones were kicked into the air again, although most were halted before they could gain any altitude. Earthbenders began falling at the hands of the mortal petals with those wielding the unorthodox weapons taking no casualties- but the Earth Kingdom had the advantage of numbers that seemed almost infinite.

And then, _more _water.

About a hundred water benders appeared; Sakuramura's royal guard. Hayate didn't notice in the heat of the battle but about three quarters of them weren't wearing the traditional garb, but instead more casual attire. He did not question it further.

And now Sakuramura definitely had the upper hand. The Earthbenders were falling in dramatic numbers with only the occasional loss of a reckless waterbender. Nevertheless, Hayate remembered the horrified look on the face of every man that slowly tumbled to the ground and he wondered what it must feel like to take a life. He wondered also what death in this case was like; whether it was a proud death of having served your nation, or a resentful one…

All of a sudden, a boulder shattered the block of ice that Hayate was taking refuge behind, completely destroying it. When the smoke cleared, he saw an Earthbender staring at him maliciously. Another was running towards him from behind; he felt faint. He had absolutely no means of defending himself; was he really and truly going to die on these plains, on the streets of the city he grew up in?

The next scene seemed to occur in slow motion; the timeline of Hayate's life was coming to an end. The first Earthbender kicked the ground with force, raising a stone several feet into the air and then rammed into it with his right fist, sending it flying at terminal velocity towards the defenceless boy. The second Earthbender, however, ran in _front _of Hayate as to defend him and stood his ground in an interesting position, with both knees facing inwards. The savior looked backwards and showed a smile with bright, sincere but terrified teeth.

He then charged his left foot into the ground, causing a pillar of earth to shoot out of it underneath Hayate, propelling him into the air on his back. He faced the clouds and wondered why someone had just saved his life; the man's face looked so sad when he turned back. He heard a painful scream that tore at his heart for some particular reason (when it was really no different from the hundreds of others he'd heard within the past few minutes), and the pillar crumbled as he fell to the ground.

As he crashed painfully into the ice, he waited a moment, heard another yell and pried open his eyes. In front of him he saw only the corpse of the man that had attempted to slay him and a Waterbender looming above. "Watch it." He began. "You'll get killed."

Hayate stood. Unmoving, he watched the battle complete itself as he collected himself from his near-death experience. At this point the winners were blatant; the Waterbenders were to be victorious. The Earth Kingdom no longer had any hope left and-

It happened.

The lead Petal Bender, the Sakurajin family head, a class eight water bender and expert Petalbender was killed.

By water.

A Waterbender in casual attire, the one that happened to have saved Hayate's life, slit the man's throat with a sharp water whip. He fell to the ground and all people stared in awe and disbelief at the assailant. He attacked again and now was joined by every Waterbender not clothed traditionally. Turmoil erupted, for it was now three dozen Petal Benders versus over a hundred water and earth benders.

Screams were everywhere. More and more petals dropped out of the sky and fluttered mournfully to the solemn, bloodstained snow below. Bodies fell in a heap on the ground.

Hayate regained his senses. There was no time to think anymore. He was going to die if he didn't move and his primal instincts kicked in albeit a bit late. Turning around, he ran away. He ran as far away as his legs could carry him and he wouldn't stop for a long time. He left behind the sound of stones and death. He knew not where he was going or what he would do when he got there but he really needed to be gone.

As tears poured slowly down his cheeks he charged down the road and he felt a horrible ache in his heart as the last Petalbender closed his eyes and the last flower petal fell to the ground.


	4. The Fugitives

.chapter four, the fugitives

The sun had set over Sakuramura's bloodstained streets: the sudden and violent outburst spanned over only a few hours, but at this time of year at such a place as this frost-ridden South Pole, days didn't last exceedingly long and by midday the panoramic sunset had drenched the horizon. By mid-afternoon the shadow of a city and what was left of its population mourned under a serene moon.

"You know," began Sukai, "We really need to stop moving."

She and Kiro wandered blindly through a grand, pitch-black forest. Not many words had been exchanged between the odd couple since Sukai subtly save the life of the man condemned to death and Kiro docked their boat of ice alongside this fir-laden glade. Due to the massive canopy of pines, snow could not always make its way down to the forest floor, creating a strange, awkward and out-of-place mixture of soil and ice.

"No." Responded firmly Kiro, his fingers constantly twitching. He swerved left to avoid an invisible tree and Sukai followed in his tracks. "But-" she started, "aren't you starting to get a little tired of Sapbending? You've been at it for a good two hours at least, nonstop." Kiro sighed, fingers still twitching and dodging yet another tree, "Don't be a total idiot. Sapbending is child's play, and" Sukai took note that he indeed stopped to take a deep breath (so, as I thought, he _is _tired!), "I'm just sensing the sap so we can avoid the trees, not trying to snap off branches or fell the firs." He swerved right.

As Sukai followed him she shuddered with the ominous caw of a jet-black raven that soared overhead, an eerie omen casting a shadow on the moon's sleek surface. A twig snapped behind them and the nervous Sukai turned backwards out of sheer reflex. Kiro laughed. "Feeling scared of the little chipmunk, Angel?" Frowning at the clear play on her full name, Mitsukai, the girl began twiddling the fingers on her right hand. "It's okay, little girl, everything's gonna be okay-" But his arrogance was cut short by a swinging branch that hit him upside the head. Even that small effort, to Sapbend a single branch, made the girl fall to the ground in a heap.

"Pathetic." Kiro stopped moving and turned around, attempting to mask the pain that he felt from the organic assault. "Tired already? You haven't really gotten anywhere-" But Sukai flowed her hands, drawing liquid from the sparse leaves of the non-coniferous specimens and using it to trip Kiro. He fell with a muffled thud to the ground below, and Sukai whispered in between deep breaths: "The Earthbenders are here- we have to stop moving."

Looking carefully, Kiro saw that they were about at this forest's edge and in about twenty feet lay sweet salvation. However, outside this part of the forest one Earthbender slowly marched up and down the riverbank, patrolling for something or other. "Do you think he knows we're here, and he's waiting for us to come out?" Proposed Sukai. "No…" Came Kiro's voice. All of a sudden they began working together as a unit, with the gears in the boy's mind almost audible to the girl. "It seems to me he's just patrolling."

Their hearts skipped a beat as the man averted his gaze and stared straight at them. He remained so for about a moment, before turning around and continuing. They exhaled in relief. "What was that?" Sukai wondered aloud.

They lay on the ground unmoving for a while, watching him pace back and forth, hoping he would eventually call it a night. After about another half hour of waiting, Kiro swore under his breath. Sukai inquired as to what was on his mind and he answered in a whisper. "Do you notice how his path is getting less and less long? It used to take him about a minute to go up and down but he's at forty seconds now." Sukai pondered. "What does it mean? Maybe his rounds end soon and he's half-assing his job." But Kiro shook his head mournfully. "Before, he passed us less. We were more on the left side of his path, but now we're at the middle of his track, or about. It's shorter on the edges; it's like he's searching for us subtly…"

Sukai frowned. "How can he? It's dark. He either sees us or he doesn't. Doing all of this is a waste of time and-" Kiro attempted to suppress a gasp but didn't quite succeed, and Sukai noticed. "What? What is it?" "The water…" Kiro said, indicating some of the water Sukai extracted. It was between their heads as they lay on their stomachs, and caught the glow of the moon which made it quite visible.

"It rippled." Sukai rolled her eyes. "Yeah, and? Water does that all the time. Vibrations in the earth, right?" But Kiro bit his lip. "Look at the Earthbender's feet."

After a moment of watching, Sukai eventually saw it too. "Oh, that time when he stepped, he stepped really hard on his heel…" "…and the water rippled. Don't you get it, Sukai? Maybe I'll help you a bit more… Let's see how long his path takes him this time."

She stopped after about half a minute. "Thirty-two seconds is what I got. What are you trying to prove, I still don't really get it…" Kiro sighed. "Earthbenders are naturally attuned to the Earth. In fact, there's a special kind of Earthbending that requires a lot of skill, of talent to master, but is quite basic in the essence. When you can't use your eyes, Earthbenders have a trump card that lets them use their hands or feet to see as well; by delivering powerful blows to the ground they send vibrations running up it to a certain area, and in that area they can detect what the vibrations bounce against… Like… Like a bat's sonar. But, it's really tough to master so normal infantry soldiers can only distinguish large objects, like a rock or a"

"…person." Sukai finished, catching his train of thought. "So you're saying he sort of found where we are, without completely finding out where we are? So he found our general direction and stomps every once in a while to get closer… If he's at thirty seconds now it won't be long until he knows just about perfectly where we are."

Kiro nodded. "Exactly. And we can't move either; if he senses our movement, he'll know we're here and definitely call reinforcements..." When Sukai asked if they were just going to sit and wait for something to happen, Kiro shook his head. "I don't know yet, I'm trying to think too, right?"

They stared at his hypnotic movement as he walked up and down the forest's edge, glancing in every so often. They both wondered how it must feel to know that people are here, staring at you, without being able to see them in return. Probably frightening. Every time he slammed his heel against the ground and small ripples danced across the puddle's surface, they both winced, knowing that he was just a few seconds closer to discovering them. When he was at twelve seconds, Kiro came up with a plan. "Sukai." He started. "What can you do?" She frowned. "Probably lift a bit of water, maybe shoot one water whip… I can Sapbend for a minute, maybe, but I won't be able to move for a good while afterwards…" He nodded. "I'll handle it myself then…"

Knowing he was putting himself at a massive risk, Kiro stood up and assumed a proper stance. Flowing his arms, he caused the very small volume of water that was on the floor to rise. He moved it back and forth for a little while, before leaning forwards slightly on his left leg and shooting the small amount of water out in a vicious whip towards the guard.

It cut through the foliage and emerged as a wild animal. The man was startled, and he received the shot to the side of the face, causing him to pivot around in a one-hundred and eighty degree rotation. The tendril of water hit him again, but he almost avoided it this time. Afterwards, he slammed the ground, causing four walls of earth to surround him.

"Get up, get up!" Kiro grabbed Sukai's collar and helped her right herself. She frowned, gaining balance. Kiro was already on his way through the foliage towards the forest's entrance. "Brilliant plan." Spat Sukai. "A dead rat could've thought of that one." "C'mon, you pest," the boy began, "he won't stay in that little prison forever and-" But, just as they made themselves visible, the walls began falling and Kiro swore. "Get back in, back in!" They managed to get about three feet inside the forest and throw themselves against the ground by the time the man's eyesight was restored.

The aforementioned guard once more caused powerful contact in between his heel and the earth, and Kiro winced; they were very close, it would be more than simple for the man to discover them. Apparently, he was still having trouble though, since no matter how many times he searched he still dared not enter the forest. _What the Hell's he waiting for?_

And then he got it.

Terrifyingly, he made eye contact with the two through the bushes and began approaching; hand on the small, usually unused dagger at his waist. The two bit their lips. _I don't know where the nearest water source is… We don't have the time to draw water from leaves, what does that leave us?!_ Was what ran through their minds at the same time.

_Just do it, Hayate. _The boy said to himself. _He's right there. You have the element of surprise. Of course, he can get you, but it's the only way for you to make it out of here alive. That bridge to freedom is riiiight there…_

So the boy took a chance. Leaping out of the water, he charged recklessly towards the man, baring his fists.

_We're going to die. We need a bloody miracle… _The guard was now about one foot above them, but they still remained sprawled out on the cold, hard floor in the utter darkness of the canopy.

Then they heard a primal scream.

Looking up, they noticed the figure of a normally-sized fourteen-year old blasting its way through the first two feet of the forest, extending its fists. Carelessly, he knocked a fist against the man's right cheek, drawing a thin line of blood. The man, shocked and surprised, let himself be caught off-balance. Recognizing an opportunity, Kiro and Sukai got up, jumping out of the woods.

The assailant and the boy followed them after the boy fell backwards out of a bush. The Earthbender guard had drawn his dagger, and chose to attack with it instead of the earthen battalion located under all of their feet. He delivered a few random shots which were avoided by simply pulling out backwards- but Hayate's lack of finesse in doing so caused him to stumble and land on all fours, to which the assailant violently responded by swiping the blade across his back and spine, drawing a line of blood as the weapon grazed Hayate's skin. In pain, the boy collapsed. "Stupid kid." Said the guard, raising his dagger for a far more painful blow.

Kiro had taken advantage of this convenient distraction, however, and noticed that the man was in reality guarding a bridge that was fairly large; it would be quite difficult to traverse by simply swimming in the river underneath due to its size. He managed to grab some water from beneath the bridge and raised it in the air, then blasted it forward carefully, nailing the man in the center of his chest. He was sent flying into a thick tree trunk, and Hayate cringed in fear. Kiro continued the assault, taking a deep breath and knocking the man out by hitting him painfully over the head.

"Well," be began, "that should about take care of that…" Sukai noticed that he was also panting now; no doubt he would have wanted to kill the man, but was quite simply too drained to exert himself any more. The Petalbender was pleased, and forcing herself up, walked over to Hayate and gave him a hand. "What're you doing here?" She couldn't help but ask. "Shouldn't you be back at the city?"

He frowned as he got up. "It's… A long story, but I'm sure it's the same as yours, Mitsukai. I just made it out, and I tried to swim across but it was just too much water… And the guard would have caught me if I tried to cross the bridge, so I tried to take him out." He sighed. "It didn't work so well."

Sukai chuckled. "Cute, but call me Sukai. Aaaand… I'm pretty sure you've already met Kiro over there." Truth be told, neither Kiro nor Hayate had noticed one another in the heat of their battle and they jumped up in frustration, pointing in an accusatory manner at one another. "YOU!" The two shouted simultaneously.

Hayate gritted his teeth, as did Kiro. At that moment, the exact same thought ran through both of their minds: _Of the countless people living in Sakuramura, HE was the one that had to make it out with me? _Feeling the tension between the two, Sukai smiled nervously before grabbing both of them by the arm. "It's great that we're all friends but… We can spend time bonding while we cross this fun bridge!" With obviously fake enthusiasm the young girl took one step forward, followed reluctantly by two rather frustrated teenagers.

The bridge was cold and their initial opinion was that it was made of wood due to the colouring; but in reality it seemed to be nothing more than dirty, rusting metal that chipped under their footsteps. They had no clue how long it had been since anyone had really used this bridge, or how much weight it could support. The constant crashing of the quick tide below made them shudder.

The air smelt of spring; the fresh, crisp air contrasted greatly with the sullen mood that had suddenly and unwillingly been dropped upon their now-heavy shoulders. None of them quite understood the gravity of the situation, nor could they really bring themselves to believe that Sakuramura and the places and people they loved were gone. The battle seemed unreal as well; Hayate survived only because of a fluke, and Sukai and Kiro were surprised they made it out of their recent encounter with the guard. Their instinct seemed to be their sole driving force in the entire matter, and they were not looking forward to the time they understood the whole situation.

They had gone halfway across the bridge by now, and Sukai, who was leaning against a rusting railing for support, cast a look across its edge into the clear river's perpetually moving waters. The moon reflected itself against it, and she found the sight beautiful, something that occurred rarely with her. Being a bit of an inner pessimist, Sukai tended to find the worst in things before seeing the positives.

Hayate and Kiro were far too furious cursing their luck internally that they had to get stuck with one another to notice.

The awkward silence was deafening, but as soon as they set foot off the bridge Sukai broke it with more artificial enthusiasm. "Well, wasn't that great?" Crickets responded nonchalantly. "I thought so too!" A sweatdrop crawled down the back of her neck. _Where the Hell are we going to sleep tonight… _She thought.

As they continued walking for what was probably another good half hour, stopping every so often so that the drained Kiro and Sukai could rest, they turned back all of a sudden upon hearing an earsplitting cacophony. The sound of metal scraping against metal made them all wince, and in the distance they could barely make out the shape of something massive collapsing into the lake. They paid it not too much heed, even though it was mildly nerve-racking they knew they were far away. They continued walking downstream.

After another few minutes, Hayate glanced casually into the river, expecting to see nothing more than rippling water and the circular figure of a moon etched upon the aquatic mirror, but he stopped and widened his eyes in surprise at what he saw. Sukai, who walked in front of him, turned around when she noticed he was no longer moving. "What's up? You look like you've just seen a ghost; your eyes are the size of the moon." Seemingly reminded of something, she began humming a little tune to herself in bliss. Hayate reached into the water slowly and pulled out a fragment of metal.

"Does this," he started, thrusting the shard forward, "look familiar to you? It's part of the bridge we were just on… Do you think that's what collapsed before?" Kiro was silent, but frowned, and Sukai answered in his place. "I don't really know what ELSE it could have been… I guess they saw the guy knocked out and figured someone made a beeline for the bridge. They probably don't care that much though, but they probably knocked the old thing down to make sure no one else did the same." Her pause was met by crickets once more. "Or, it's completely possible that they sent a search party after us and we're being stalked now. Yeah, that wouldn't be fun."

Hayate dropped the piece of metal back into the water and watched it flow away into oblivion. They continued walking uncomfortably and still in silence.

After yet another little while a small light became visible in the distance. As they got closer, the light became visible as a hanging lantern. It was at the entrance to a decently-sized cabin, which could easily pass for an inn. Sukai looked back to get the two boys' opinions- both of them just wore scowls and refused all forms of eye contact with her.

Sighing, she took it upon herself to knock and hope there weren't any nasty surprises waiting on the other end.


	5. The Teahouse

.chapter five, the teahouse

Sukai's knocks hit the wooden door, but no response came. If it weren't for the sliver of light escaping from the small gap beneath the vertical plank of wood then she most likely would have just given up then and there. After a few more knocks, however, the faint sound of footsteps could be heard as the pitter-patter was muffled by the sound of sandals. The lock to the door clicking from the inside, it swung open revealing a silhouette.

Upon closer examination the silhouette belonged to a short, stout elderly woman, about five feet in height with sparse wrinkles upon her face. Her long gray hair was tied in a bun kept in place by a small green rod with the diameter of a pencil. She was clothed in a nightgown with slippers on, and smiled as soon as she saw the group. "Goodnight!" She spoke enthusiastically. To their surprise, she wasn't missing any teeth and her sky blue eyes gave off the impression that, when she was younger, she was most likely a very beautiful woman. "I hate to be rude but… Who exactly are you three?" Sukai bit her lip and looked sideways, hoping that Kiro or Hayate would take it upon themselves to introduce the party, but after a moment of silence she figured it was better if the task was left to her. In a sigh, she spoke.

"My name's Mitsukai, and this is Kiro, that's Hayate. We're from a nearby town and…" Suddenly, she wondered what to say. Should she speak the truth, or would that somehow endanger them? Still not having completely come to terms with the incident, she was unsure what her own reaction would be to revealing it out loud. After her moment of hesitation Kiro took over in a commanding tone. "…What she means is that we've been disowned by our parents. Or rather, we've run away since our mother is a prostitute and our father, an alcoholic. They wouldn't care anyways." Sukai was impressed with Kiro's lie, and her immature mind couldn't help but chuckle at the mention of the word "prostitute."

Hayate frowned. Apparently, Kiro was far superior at lying than he was anyways. Were they rivals? He didn't want that at all- in fact, he pretty much just hated Kiro.

The woman seemed honestly sympathetic. Her sincere frown made Hayate and Sukai feel guilty about lying to her in such a way, but knew that it could not have been avoided. Stepping aside, she motioned in a familiar manner with her arms. "Come in, come in!" As the three of them happily complied, bowing mildly as they entered, the same thought ran through their minds.

_Waterbender._

They looked around- the room was lit warmly by lanterns on tables and one hung from the ceiling, leaving only a few obscure corners in darkness. There were large windows, so they assumed sunlight must flood in during the short days. Scroll paintings lined the walls and tables were everywhere along with cushions that replaced the more commonplace chairs as means of sitting down at them. There was a sliding door in a wall that seemed to cut the room in half.

Hayate was oblivious to the fact that Sukai and Kiro were now dwelling on; the way the old woman greeted them by moving her arms was the exact same way one would levitate water and begin to conjure a water whip- and it couldn't have been sheer coincidence. Who was she, really?

Reading their minds, she bowed in turn and introduced herself. "My name is Mizai Chanoyu, and I run this small teahouse. There are rooms beyond that wall for your convenience if you'd like to stay the night… Don't worry, it's on the house and all of our rooms are empty anyways, save for one that my employee stays in. You boys can stay in the first room to your right, and you, little angel, can stay on the one to the left. Feel free to put your lights out whenever you like, but please don't make too much noise after eleven, since that's when I get to sleep." She walked over to the sliding door and pulled it open, revealing a hallway. The three of them were eager to step in, but before doing so out of curiosity Hayate couldn't help but ponder: "What time is it anyways, miss?" Mizai lifted her right arm and checked a watch. "About six thirty… Why?" The three of them were bewildered that it was so early; but it made sense. The graduation ceremony began at ten thirty, and about an hour in they were attacked. Afterwards, it took them several hours to navigate through the forest and by the time they'd defeated the guard and crossed the bridge, then walked all the way here…

They were still exceptionally tired, so they thanked the woman and stepped into the hall revealed by the door. It slid shut behind Kiro, who walked in last.

The hallway was thin, only about four feet wide. There were four doors on each side, and at the very end of the hall was a small incense burner in the shape of some long-forgotten deity. It was lit, and a pleasant but overpowering smell wafted into the hall and each room. Remembering Mizai's instructions, Kiro mechanically turned to the right and walked into his quarters, shutting the sliding door loudly. Sukai smiled awkwardly while Hayate just stared at the floor.

"We should… Probably get some sleep or something." The boy said, turning his back to the Petalbender. The girl seemed to wake up from some sort of trance, before agreeing. "Yeah, you're right…" She faced her own door, and simultaneously they slid each one open, stepped in and closed them.

Sukai heaved a massive sigh of relief upon stepping into hers. She wasn't quite ready to come to terms with all that had happened recently, so decided instead to make the most of the free room she was being offered by the generous woman. It was really quite nice and large, about twelve by twelve feet. Two sleeping bag-esque beds lay unfolded and closed in the middle of the floor, green in colour. There was also a nice desk, with a lantern placed on the corner. Another lantern hung from the ceiling, lighting it as warmly as the entrance was. There seemed to be few other conveniences, aside from a small round table. There were no windows, but the walls were made of an opaque yet thin material, which she assumed would let the natural light in during the daytime.

She wondered if she was to sleep in her kimono; she always had a beautiful nightgown that she slept in. As the thought crossed her mind, there came a knocking at the door. Running to it, the girl slid it open and welcomed Mizai's figure inside.

The old woman spoke first. "What do you think of your room?" Sukai smiled. "I like it. Big, and, I mean, I could use a bathroom or something… But it's awesome." Mizai smiled broadly. "Nice to hear; about the bathroom, though, you're free to use our hot spring facility…"

This piqued Sukai's interest. "Hot springs?" The woman nodded. "Yes. The fourth door on the left isn't a room, and it leads out into our fenced hot springs. I don't know if you can freshen up in there, but it'll definitely help you unwind…" Sukai smiled herself, hugging the woman. Feeling awkward after a moment, she retreated, blushing. "Sorry about that…" Mizai only chuckled. "Oh, don't mention it. I don't get enough hugs nowadays anyways…" She turned around and walked out of the room, bidding Sukai goodnight.

Right after she left, Sukai crept out and made her way to the fourth door on the left, as Mizai had said, and slowly slid it open. She grinned at the sight; a small, round pond surrounded by rocks was shrouded in a veil of steam. Candles burned in every corner or so, with a few sparse plants making it look more natural. Removing her kimono and all clothing underneath, she took a careful step in, recoiled due to shock from the initial heat, but eventually let herself sink inside.

Within the building, however, the mood was much more solemn. In the first room from the right, Kiro had made himself at home on his bed as he lay down and counted ceiling tiles out of boredom. Hayate said nothing, and instead walked over to the desk. Finding that he had been conveniently provided a pen and a notepad, he began drawing, which was one thing he enjoyed and found that he did rather well.

Despite the fact that they each tried to ignore the other's existence, the tension in the room was so thick it could be cut with a knife. The incense's relaxing properties were lost on the two.

While "counting ceiling tiles", Kiro thought of the day's events. About how all of this probably really happened, and slowly, the shock began setting in. Sakuramura was gone. They were gone from the city; everything they had known was no more and they would have to start from scratch. No, _he_ had to start from scratch with a bratty little girl and the most pathetic child in the city.

The future looked bleak.

Of course, while Hayate and Sukai tried to get their minds off of the reality by doing miscellaneous things such as soaking in hot springs and drawing, the truth couldn't help but loom in the back of their minds. It was an atrocious feeling, and soon it just became too powerful for them to focus on anything else. Laying his pen to rest and pushing the stool back in, Hayate flicked off the lantern and watched smoke billow out of the top as he turned around and walked towards his bed. He stood up on his toes to try to turn off the lantern hanging from the ceiling, but couldn't quite reach and eventually gave up. Kiro snickered and got up to do it himself, which, being a good three inches taller than Hayate, happened easily.

_Can't even reach a lantern at the ceiling is how much of a loser he is._

Sukai had now crawled out of the hot spring and noticed that a nightgown lay nicely folded on a stone; it wasn't there before. The sweet Mizai must have put it there for her, and it was a bit big, but far more comfortable to sleep in than her other clothing. She walked back to her own room and collapsed on her thin bed.

They now were all thinking the same thing; how their reality was shattered and to be replaced with something so foreign. The concept of no longer having a home to return to, no longer having parents and siblings and all the friendships they spent their years nurturing. The concept of everything they knew going up in the ashes of a random and fatal attack…

All three of them, tired as could be, closed their eyes. All three of them, the twelve year old prodigy, the fifteen year old genius and your everyday fourteen year old lost at least one tear that night, terrified of the days to come.

And they drifted off into sleep.


	6. The Training

.chapter six, the training

_And now Sakuramura definitely had the upper hand. The Earthbenders were falling in dramatic numbers with only the occasional loss of a reckless waterbender. Nevertheless, Hayate remembered the horrified look on the face of every man that slowly tumbled to the ground and he wondered what it must feel like to take a life. He wondered also what death in this case was like; whether it was a proud death of having served your nation, or a resentful one…_

_All of a sudden, a boulder shattered the block of ice that Hayate was taking refuge behind, completely destroying it. When the smoke cleared, he saw an Earthbender staring at him maliciously. Another was running towards him from behind; he felt faint. He had absolutely no means of defending himself; was he really and truly going to die on these plains, on the streets of the city he grew up in?_

_The next scene seemed to occur in slow motion; the timeline of Hayate's life was coming to an end. The first Earthbender kicked the ground with force, raising a stone several feet into the air and then rammed into it with his right fist, sending it flying at terminal velocity towards the defenceless boy. The second Earthbender, propelled by either force of will or a technique, Hayate was never sure, ran in __front __of Hayate as to defend him and stood his ground in an interesting position, with both knees facing inwards. The man looked backwards and showed a smile with bright, sincere but terrified teeth._

_He then charged his left foot into the ground, causing a pillar of earth to shoot out of it underneath Hayate, propelling him into the air on his back. He faced the clouds and wondered why someone had just saved his life; the man's face looked so sad when he turned back. He heard a painful scream that tore at his heart for some particular reason (when it was really no different from the hundreds of others he'd heard within the past few minutes), and the pillar crumbled as he fell to the ground. As he crashed painfully into the ice, he waited a moment, heard another yell and pried open his eyes. In front of him he saw only the corpse of the man that had attempted to kill him and a Waterbender looming above. "Watch it." He began. "You'll get killed."_

_Hayate stood. Unmoving, he watched the battle complete itself as he collected himself from his near-death experience. At this point the winners were blatant, the Waterbenders were to be victorious. The Earth Kingdom no longer had any hope left and-_

_It happened._

_The lead Petal Bender, the Sakurajin family head a class eight water bender and expert Petalbender was killed._

_By water._

_A Waterbender in casual attire, the one that happened to have saved Hayate's life, slit the man's throat with a sharp water whip. He fell to the ground and all people stared in awe and disbelief at the assailant. He attacked again and now was joined by every Waterbender not clothed traditionally. Turmoil erupted, for it was now three dozen Petal Benders versus over a hundred water and earth benders._

_Screams were everywhere. More and more petals dropped out of the sky and fluttered mournfully to the solemn, bloodstained snow below. Bodies fell in a heap on the ground._

_Hayate regained his senses. There was no time to think anymore. He was going to die if he didn't move and his primal instincts kicked in albeit a bit late. Turning around, he ran away. He ran as far away as his legs could carry him and he wouldn't stop for a long time. He left behind the sound of stones and death. He knew not where he was going or what he would do when he got there but he really needed to be gone._

_As tears poured slowly down his cheeks he charged down the road and he felt a horrible ache in his heart as the last Petalbender closed his eyes and the last flower petal fell to the ground._

Hayate awoke with a jolt, in a cold sweat. Beads of water trickled down the base of his neck, and he panted as he sat up, hands on his legs. The sweet smell of incense crawled up his nostrils as his pupils darted from one end of his eyes to the other, quickly scanning the room. Of course, nothing but the silent slump of a figure lying a few feet away, the shape of Kiro, was discernable or otherwise visible. He had no idea what time it was, but knew that with such a mental image implanted still on his mind he would not be able to get some more sleep for a little while.

Pushing himself up by leaning on his right arm, he shivered and took a few steps, almost tripping on the sleeping bag. _Smooth, Hayate. _He thought to himself as he made his way to the sliding door which he pushed to the right, revealing the silent hallway. A candle was lit at the end of the hall by the incense burner. He inhaled the smell of incense again, the stench growing old now. Chills ran up his spine as he realized just how cold the wood underneath his feet was.

Back inside the room, Kiro stared vacantly at the ceiling once more, with his eyes half shut. He'd never really been able to go to sleep; he was spending far too much time pondering. Pondering what was really happening, what had just happened. Such a simple thing tossed his entire life into limbo. There was nothing left for him to return to; no more Academy. He no longer had teachers to impress or friends to defeat in sparring. He no longer had a way to climb through ranks and tower above everyone else, since there was no one left to tower over. Hayate had been talking to himself in his sleep, which Kiro found profoundly disturbing but couldn't shrug off some of the things the boy had said in the midst of unconsciousness.

"No, don't die. No, don't, not you too! Stop dying, all of you! Stop, no one's left! Everyone's going to die! The Petal Benders too, no! No, no no! Stay away from me! No, no, we're going to lose!" Things like that were repeated over and over, and the monotonous whining almost faded into background noise, as he became accustomed to the incense's overpowering aroma, until he shrieked, causing Kiro to sit up and lose his train of thought.

"I'M GOING TO DIE!" Hayate had screamed.

In a fit of frustration Kiro grabbed his pillow and smacked Hayate upside the head, before lying back down. Hayate's constant flow of words was soon replaced by a deep breathing as the boy erected his back in his bed, allowing Kiro to heave a sigh of relief. That said, the horrible truth revealed by Hayate still left him in shock- the Petalbenders were all dead, the city was in ruin and he had no idea what had become of the people that were led away in single file, including Hayate's sister.

After several minutes, the door slid shut again. Hayate had stepped out a few moments ago, but he had no idea where the boy went and, quite frankly, couldn't really care. As he stepped in and let the warm glow of the candle in the hall to enter their cubicle, Kiro managed to smell a minty aroma mixed with that of the incense. Clutched in Hayate's left hand was a cup of what Kiro assumed was tea. He had no idea how the boy got it, but didn't mind either. He never liked mint, anyways.

Hayate, stepping in, wondered who had left such good tea out. He had entered the main room, the one with several tables and sitting cushions, and there were three cups of mint tea simply sitting on a table. Unable to resist the temptation, Hayate went and grabbed one. He sat down on a cushion and took a sip, delighted at the warm, silky taste that soothed his insides as it crept down his throat. After a few sips, he disconnected his greedy lips from the glass and took a deep breath, smiling for the first time in countless hours.

As he got up, he wondered if he should bring the other two glasses to Sukai and Kiro. Either someone forget them, or they were destined for the three. Regardless, he picked one up in his other hand and entered the hallway. Knocking on the door to the left, he slid the door open when he heard a muffled "c'me in…"

Taking a step inside, he saw Sukai lying on her stomach in a slump in her sleeping bag. Her hair was untied and loose, leaving Hayate to notice for once how much of it she had. Otherwise she wore a white bathrobe that was much too large for her. She seemed more or less lifeless, but Hayate chuckled internally when he saw her nostrils perk up at the smell of the mint. Slowly, she pulled herself up. Sukai was quite dishevelled.

"Who… Hayate? That you?" Hayate nodded, but she couldn't see. Assuming it was, she stood up and walked over to the corner, lighting a lantern on the desk. Immediately the room was flooded with light, and Hayate was blinded while his eyes adjusted to the painful lack of darkness. "Oh… hey…" Came the Petalbender's weary voice. "Is that… tea?" She looked hopeful, and Hayate nodded. Slowly rubbing her eyes, she walked over and graciously took the cup, taking a very long sip. "Hey… thanks for that." Hayate mentioned that it was no problem. "Sukai… Do you know what time it is? It's just dark outside, and that doesn't mean much…"

Sukai frowned. "None at all… But my hair's completely dry, so it's probably been a good few hours since we got here at least." She chuckled in a painfully fake manner. Hayate could tell that obviously she had been giving the day's events some thought as well. All of a sudden, he felt the big brother feeling that he often got when being around Kimi, his younger sister. He pat Sukai on her back. "It'll work out, I guess. Don't think about all of this too much, or you'll go crazy. Just try and get some sleep for now. We'll worry about tomorrow when we get there."

She nodded, and Hayate felt a bit guilty knowing that he was asking the impossible from a twelve year old. He knew full well that when he left she would continue thinking about the disaster, and of course, so would he. But the temporary bliss made the both of them feel a bit better, so there was nothing to lose.

After a minute of chit chat, but mostly awkward silence, Hayate excused himself. Sukai thanked him for the tea again, and in a few seconds he closed the door and opened the one to the first room on the right. Unsurprisingly, Kiro hadn't budged. The oaf was probably lost in gleeful dreams. He didn't seem disturbed by anything that had happened today. In fact, Hayate wouldn't be entirely surprised if it turned out that Kiro was actually one of those traitorous Waterbenders.

Sitting with his legs crossed on his sleeping bag, Hayate took the final sips of his tea and put the cup down beside the mattress, then enclosed himself underneath the blanket as well. Slowly, he fell asleep as well along with Sukai in the next room. Kiro shuffled around in bed for a few more minutes, not quite able to shake all of the things he heard Hayate say, but soon the hypnotic sound of his roommate's rhythmic breathing helped lull him into a trance. Slowly, his eyelids covered his pupils and he drifted off into his own unconscious bliss.

Kiroushi Hironaka woke up first. As he had anticipated, the pitch black, windowless rooms were lit to a ridiculous extent when the Sun rose. Sunlight flooded the main room, which crept through the doors that seemed to be made of a semi transparent papery material. It was far more effective than the two small lanterns that lit up their small quarters at night. Casting a sideways glance, he saw the sleeping form of Hayate and cursed under his breath at the realization that this wasn't just a horrible dream. It was just a horrible reality, he figured, slowly rising.

Pushing the door aside, Kiro left his room and entered the hallway. The incense had burned itself out completely and there was a plain wick where the candle had once flamed brightly. He turned around and opened the door that led into the main room, and frowned at the initial sight.

There was a cup of mint tea left over from last night, sitting on the table. He should have known the Hayate wouldn't have brought it to him, but couldn't say that he minded. Grabbing the glass, he waltzed over to a window and opened it, tossing the liquid out all over the lawn beside the small building. As he turned around, he was caught by surprise by the old woman… What was her name, Mizai? She smiled. "Good morning to you." He bowed awkwardly. "Good morning, ma'am." She chuckled. "No need to be so formal, I've already told you my name… Now, go take a seat. I'm sure you're starving."

As much as Kiro was ready to protest, wanting more than anything to leave this place, he did realize that he was very hungry and a decent meal prepared for free wasn't exactly something he could say no to.

Carefully lowering himself onto a cushion, he heard Mizai's cheerful voice echo through the room. "Would you like a menu?" Curious, Kiro raised an eyebrow. The woman brought over a small slip of paper with words carefully and elegantly printed upon them. The menu's header read "Heart of the South Teahouse". The woman smiled. "I'll take your order as soon as you like."

Kiro examined what was on the list; a good three quarters was many different varieties of tea, many of which he had never even heard of before. Near the end there was food and desserts, and he contented himself with a traditional, simple meal. He chose a hearty soup and a meal of fermented soybeans over rice; something that he grew up with. Most people in the Southern Water tribe had some form of soup with every meal, since it was constantly so cold outside.

When he pushed his menu away, he heard footsteps behind him and a voice utter "Ready to order?" The words took him by surprise since they didn't sound like Mizai's frail, older voice but instead came as younger, feminine and clear as a bell. He turned around and noticed that in fact Mizai wasn't the one taking his order, but in fact a much more attractive young woman took her place.

The woman wore loose fitting white pants and a kimono that resembled Sukai's in colour, but was far inferior in quality. Her eyes shone a dazzling emerald, with her hair tied in a ponytail that reached her elbows. Her skin tone was fair, and Kiro felt a bit guilty noticing that she had quite the chest as well. Shaking his head from the initial shock of seeing someone like her as opposed to the old, wilting woman.

"Uh, hey… Are you okay?" She asked, raising an eyebrow. Kiro nodded. "Right… I'll have this, please." The woman nodded, pulling a notebook from her pocket and removing a pen from behind her ear. She began scrawling words down on the notepad, and Kiro managed to get a glimpse of his order, written in the form of

豆. It was refreshing to see words again- he remembered that he had fifty pages of a book to read for class today… He remembered being frustrated at the fact that they had just graduated and yet required such a drawn-out assignment… But remembered that the satisfaction of passing on to class two would undoubtedly be worth it.

He sighed. The homework was probably cancelled.

He looked over to the door, and noticed that it slid open and Sukai and Hayate emerged at once. He made brief eye contact before returning to stare straight at the wall, waiting for his meal to arrive. Hayate reluctantly sat down beside Kiro, with Sukai sitting across him.

"So." She began. "What's done is done." Hayate was impressed with her resolve and that she managed to get over the incident so easily. "Hayate…" The boy's attention was piqued; he had been reading the menu that Kiro left on the table but raised his head with interest. "Yeah?" "Last night you told me a bit about what you were doing during out fight. If you were really in the middle of the city… Can you please tell us both everything that happened? I figure we have the right to know the truth." His stomach clenched, and Kiro's fists closed themselves firmly. How was Hayate to describe everything that happened?

"Well…" He started. "There was a huge cannon blast and everyone sort of dove for cover. Then like a hundred tanks and a bunch of Earthbenders came out of nowhere and started knocking down buildings. I was hiding so I didn't see a lot, but the Petalbenders and Waterbenders came to save the day and destroyed the tanks and took out a lot of Earthbenders in a few seconds. It looked like everything was going to work out for the better when some of the Waterbenders betrayed the others and started killing off the Petalbenders and loyal Waterbenders. With the help of the Earthbenders, we didn't stand a chance. I almost died like… twice, and then I ran away."

"So the Petalbenders are dead, then." Her strong tone frightened the two of them to an extent, but Hayate nodded mournfully. She shrugged. "I… figured as much." While it was obvious she was trying to suppress tears, Hayate and Kiro were astounded at how tough she was being.

A few moments later, the woman brought over Kiro's breakfast. He smiled as he allowed the rancid stench of soybeans to encompass him, staring at the vegetables placed upon a bed of rice. Sukai and Hayate twitched, revolted at the sight. "Are you supposed… To eat that?" Sukai asked no one in particular. The waitress chuckled and Kiro fumed. "Of course! Natto is the breakfast of champions, I'll have you know! I've been eating this every morning of my life, and that's why I'm so much better than you!"

_Ah, so the soybeans made him a total asshat. Note to self: Stay away from that Natto crap. _Came Hayate's mind.

"Don't worry." Spoke the waitress. "I don't like it either. Apparently it's an acquired taste… I guess I just never acquired it." Hayate and Sukai laughed, before ordering soup, more mint tea and a giant omelette to be shared between the two of them.

As the waitress left, Sukai yawned. "Alright, let's face it. Sakura's gone. We can't go back there, there's nothing left. It could be a bit exciting, you know, starting our life from scratch?" Hayate thought it over, and as he realized that it could in fact be interesting, he was still possessed by the fear of being completely alone… You know, besides these two.

Kiro shrugged. "It's my future a few years early. I was planning on getting out of Sakuramura as soon as I hit class four anyways, which would happen by the time I was nineteen at the _latest._" Sukai sneered. "You know that most _adults _can't go higher than class two? Class four is seen as highly skilled. Class three as skilled, class two as average and class one as novice. Above class four, you've got five, highly talented, six, extremely talented, and so on. I've never even _heard _of anyone that could ever pass ten though, and I don't think it'll ever happen." Hayate wasn't paying much attention; he was never interested in bending.

"Oh, come on Sukai. You saw me fight out there, I took out one of those tanks and that guard practically by myself. That's got to be better than your every day class two. It's not IF I'd hit class four, it's just WHEN." She shrugged. She couldn't deny that he was talented, but they were in completely different leagues.

"Tell you what," she began, "we're not doing anything today anyways, so I can teach you some new moves, or at least help you master some ones you already know!" This made Hayate groan, but interested Kiro. "Hm… You know, I was really looking forward to leaving this place today but I suppose it couldn't hurt. After all, I was supposed to have a sparring class today and I'll get rusty if I don't work at it."

Noticing Hayate's less than enthusiastic demeanour, Sukai couldn't help but ponder. "Why don't you at least try to learn Waterbending, Hayate? They say that at least nine tenths of the population has SOME hidden affinity for it, so I'm sure you do too." He shrugged. It beat having nothing to do all day.

After Hayate and Sukai devoured their omelettes and inhaled their tea, and Kiro was done with his soup and Natto, the three walked over to the Hot Springs. Sukai opened the door first and was greeted by a face full of steam, which clouded up the hallway and stuck to the papery material the doors were made out of. Hoping she didn't damage anything, Sukai took off her sandals and walked outside.

The two boys quickly inspected their surroundings- the hot springs were quite nice. Sukai preferred them at night, personally, but they didn't lack any charm at this time of day either.

"Alright, so. Hayate, why don't you give this a shot first?" He stared at his feet. "Come on, it can't be that bad. Look, just… Do what I do, alright?"

Sukai leaned forward on her right knee and slowly demonstrated a movement, the flowing of one's dominant arm, in her case, the right, upwards to make the water from a source rise. Hayate felt embarrassed, but attempted the position and did exactly the same thing as Sukai. She corrected his form a few times, but unfortunately no water rose. He tried again, and again, but the boiling water remained stagnant. Sukai smiled innocently and Kiro burst out laughing. Humiliated, Hayate stopped and turned around. Sukai regained her composure. "Oh, Hayate, hold on! C'mon, don't leave-" But she spoke to a door as the boy stepped back inside a hallway. Kiro continued his laughing, and Sukai glared at him. He stopped eventually.

"Oh, come on Sukai, that was hilarious. That was completely and utterly sad. The water didn't even _budge. _I've seen better Waterbenders made of _stone._" Sukai made a thin slip of water slap Kiro across the face, but didn't say anything otherwise. Hayate was truly quite horrible at Waterbending and she began to wonder if there really were people that just couldn't do it.

"Forget it- let's just learn a new move, alright? Do exactly as I do…"

Sighing, Hayate took a seat at another table. Mizai was sitting down at one across the room knitting, and her employee, the waitress, came over to Hayate. "You want something else?" Hayate thought about it. "Yeah, actually… Could I have some more mint tea?" She nodded. "'course."

In a few minutes she returned with the tea in hand, smoke billowing from the top. Just as she was a few feet from Hayate's table, she accidentally tripped and fell, dropping the glass. Hayate cringed as he anticipated the loud shattering, but as he opened his eyes was astounded at the sight.

Somehow, the waitress had managed to catch the cup, and as for the tea, it was _floating ten centimetres above the floor._

The waitress had to be a contortionist- the way she fell, she would have needed to stabilize herself with an arm as she landed and toss out the other one to grab the cup before gravity defeated her. As for the tea, Hayate noticed that Mizai seemed to be knitting with one hand now, and her left hand was outstretched with the palm facing the ceiling. Slowly, as the waitress stood up and held the cup normally, Mizai moved her hand to guide the liquid back into the glass without spilling a drop. When all was good and well, she returned to her knitting and the waitress gave Hayate his tea. He thanked her and she sat down in front of him. He felt a bit uncomfortable with this stranger, but didn't really mind.

"Sorry about that," she began. "I'm a bit of a klutz sometimes. Good thing my reflexes are good and the old lady's a Teabender." Hayate stopped taking a sip and inquired. "Teabender? I never heard of that before…" "It's really just Waterbending, but she hates bending normal water. Says it's difficult. Only does it with boiling tea now, although I hear she used to be a class three Waterbender or something. Not that I would know…"

Hayate frowned again at the thought of not being able to Waterbend, like Sukai and Kiro and how he made a fool of himself. "My name's Suyin." Said the waitress, smiling. "Yours?" "Hayate." He said, returning the grin.

Kiro took a deep breath as he collapsed to the floor. Sukai yawned. "What are you trying to do, kill me?!" Kiro asked, panting heavily. "I'm trying to train you so you don't get walked over if you ever have to fight an ant." This frustrated Kiro, as he loathed being patronized.

"You completely asked for it…"

Standing up and taking a breath, he conjured water from the hot springs and fashioned it into a whip.

"I challenge you, Mitsukai Sakurajin. I'll win, know that I was only holding back before."

And without leaving her a second, he whisked the water straight at her.


	7. The Ambush

.chapter seven, the ambush

Sukai turned around and bent her mouth into a displeased sneer. "Yeah, like that'll happen." Extending her palm and mildly bending her back knee, she froze the whip in mid-air. Picking it up, she tossed it haphazardly into the hot springs and Kiro watched, frustrated, as it evaporated under the extreme heat.

Sukai yawned. "Looks like I recovered from yesterday…" She stared blankly at the sky, and then turned to face Kiro. "Are you still on your period, or do you want to keep learning attacks?" Her voice pierced the air and Kiro, outraged, crouched down and slowly began rising, his arms at his sides. As he did so, a huge wall of water began growing behind him. Sukai didn't seem fazed in the slightest. The boy swung both of his arms forward, causing the water to collapse as a giant wave. Sukai pointed her index finger at the incoming wave and caused a large portion of it to evaporate in a mass of pure vapour. The rest fell pointlessly to the ground. Kiro was fuming.

"You're…" He reached into the water, cringing as his hands were burnt by the contact with the boiling liquid, "…really annoying!" As he pulled his hand out a ball of pure water, about the diameter of his hand, was tossed at the Petalbender. She frowned and sidestepped it casually, before falling into her own stance. Crouching, she crossed her fingers on each hand and thrust her digits up, causing two pillars in the shape of double helixes to emerge and tower a good three feet above Kiro. He turned backwards and opened his mouth in terror, but Sukai, unwilling to complete the technique, uncrossed her fingers and resumed a normal standing stance. The helixes collapsed onto Kiro, who was now drenched from head to toe.

"Can we be done yet?" Sukai inquired. Kiro was still furious. "It's not over 'till I say it's-" But Sukai interrupted him by causing a veil of water to cover his big mouth, as she had done a while ago. "Damn it, Kiro, listen to me!" She walked towards him and poked him in the forehead between the eyes. "_I'm _the class four. I'm the teacher, you're the student. I taught you those two moves in the past hour, and I've been practicing them for years. Don't be stupid and think you can beat me." She sighed. "Okay, are we calm now? Do you think you're ready to learn a new move?" Kiro grumbled subtly, and while Sukai knew full well that he was looking forward to it she shook her head in disdain. "Come on, let's go."

She smiled. "Well, you won't always have access to water. That's a Waterbender's biggest problem because without water, we're completely powerless." She saw that Kiro was about to speak up. "Yeah, I know there's water in the air but you also know how difficult it is to draw it out, and how little you get for the amount of energy you spend. Which is why there's a special technique." She turned around to face the basin of boiling water and lifted the right sleeve of her kimono to her shoulder.

Crouching, she touched the surface of the water and closed her eyes. Water danced up her fingers, slowly creating rings around each one except for the thumb. The ring finger bore two. In addition, the water created three bracelets around her right wrist and snaked up her arm to her neck, surrounding it and creating a watery pendant. In a moment Sukai froze all of the organic jewellery. Kiro frowned. "Won't it just… you know, melt?" But Sukai shook her head. "Of course not. If the phase swapping's right, it should stay frozen for a long time… And if you notice it getting wet, just freeze it again. It doesn't drain you much and it's not a tough concept"

Kiro was sceptical. "Yeah, and does this really work?" Almost before he could finish, the five rings on Sukai's fingers turned to a surprisingly large mass of water, which was shot to him in a painful water whip, burning his right upper leg. He swore. "Admittedly, you asked for it." Snapping her fingers, the water around her neck and on her arm evaporated into steam.

"You give it a shot." She said. Kiro shuddered. Class two was basic phase swapping; it was difficult at his level to get room temperature water to ice or gas and took quite a large amount of concentration. Not willing to admit this to Sukai, however, he dipped his fingers into the boiling water as she and focused hard, eventually creating a crude, not quite circular ring around his index finger. Removing it, he focused to attempt to have it freeze. He still wasn't even noticing a change in the water's temperature, though, which frustrated him immensely. He closed his eyes and slowly felt the area where the ring was getting cooler, was it perhaps working?

As he opened his eyes he noticed, unfortunately, that he had not focused well enough and instead of freezing shifted the phase to gas, the ring having evaporated entirely. He frowned, but Sukai walked over. "Don't sweat it, it's not that tough and once you get phase swapping it'll be the easiest thing."

They spent the next hour or so practicing more moves, ones that Kiro had never heard of before. For one, they learnt the Double Helix that Sukai had semi-demonstrated earlier; although the true use of that was to trap a foe inside of the helix, then freeze it to have them at your mercy. Although, when they were trapped inside the helix they were helpless either way so an ally could finish them quickly at that point. Kiro mastered this quickly.

He also perfected the creation and throwing of simple water balls, which were convenient and quick attacks. A few easy attacks were also learnt, as well as simple binding techniques. Simple, yet effective.

Kiro took a break and sprawled himself on the stones. Sukai rolled her eyes. "C'mon, you're not that tired already, right? We didn't do _anything_ yet." He didn't say anything, though, and instead continued panting, his dark hair falling in front of his eyes and hanging damply off of the rock. After a moment, Sukai spoke once more. "Anyways, I'm gonna get some tea. You want any?" Kiro shook his head. "I… hate mint." Shrugging, the girl opened the door and walked back into the teahouse.

Hayate took another sip of his tea and continued his conversation with the waitress. "So, um… Suyin?" He didn't want to seem rude, but this question had been prodding at the back of his mind for a good while. "Do any people ever come here? It's completely empty…" Suyin shrugged. "Depends. Sometimes travellers that are going to Sakura stop by in big groups or alone. Then again, most of the time it's completely abandoned, the old lady's owned the place for as long as I can remember, so it's not like she pays rent or anything." She yawned, and pointed at the vacant teacup. "You done with that?" She asked, to which Hayate nodded. Getting up, she picked up the glass and proceeded to wash it.

As she turned her back, the door slid open and Sukai entered. She looked down and noticed the seated Hayate. "Oh, hey!" She quickly took a seat beside him. "How's it going?" Hayate asked insincerely. Sukai didn't notice the lack of enthusiasm in his voice and answered honestly. "Kiro's a pain, but he's picking it up at least. I dunno how well he'd last in an actual fight, but hopefully we won't have to get into one." Hayate nodded. He was still a bit paranoid and afraid that Earth Nation soldiers were stalking them from the siege of Sakuramura.

"Hey, do you know how I could get some tea? Waitress… Uh, waitress?" Hayate whacked her subtly on the arm. "Use her name, Sukai." Remembering that she didn't know it, Hayate whispered it to the little girl. "Her name's Suyin." Sukai nodded, but found the name a bit strange. It just didn't seem like anything she'd heard before, it sounded… foreign. Regardless, she beckoned the waitress. "Um, Suyin?" She messed up the "i" sound, making the name come out as "Suyeen". Either way Suyin recognized her name and turned around. "Yeah?" "Can I have some tea, please? It's… tiring out there." Suyin smirked. "Sure thing… But you've only been out there like, an hour." As she poured the tea, she continued her lecture. "I'm guessing you've never been in an actual fight before?" She smirked, walking towards them. "It's way different than practicing. A fight doesn't last hours on end, which is why people might think that it's easier because you lose less energy… Wrong." She lay the cup down on the table. "In a fight, everything is on the spur of the moment. You don't have hours to think up a strategy, so often attacks are used recklessly. You move, duck, parry and doge, attack at the same time. You get drained really quickly, and all of a sudden you lose track of how tired you are, get caught by surprise and it's… the end for you."

A loud slapping sound was heard as Mizai stood on her toes and smacked Suyin. "Stop scaring the kids, Suyin! They've had enough to deal with… With their destructive "family"." Suyin and Mizai chuckled, leading Sukai and Hayate to stare at each other uneasily. What was so funny? Mizai explained. "The walls are thin. It's not exactly difficult to hear late-night conversations, regardless of how much you actually intend on eavesdropping…" Their faces flushed bright red out of shame. "We're so sorry…" Began Hayate out of reflex, breaking into a cold sweat. "We didn't want to lie to you, and I didn't intend to, for the record, but Kiro just did what he thought was best on the spur of the moment. Please, punish him if you must but we've got nowhere to go!" Mizai smiled. "Don't worry, I won't kick you out; feel free to stay as long as you like, in fact. However, it would be good to know that there are no more secrets in between us- is there anything else you need to say?"

Thinking nothing else important was hidden from them, Hayate and Sukai responded "no". Of course, if Mizai were still curious she could ask whatever she liked at any moment. Finishing her tea, Sukai politely excused herself and returned to the hot springs to continue training. Feeling awkward with Suyin and Mizai now that their position had been truly revealed, Hayate joined her after a refill, of course.

As he opened the door to the hot springs, he was met with a blast of steam to the face. Coughing, he dropped his cup and shuddered as it shattered against the floor. When the steam cleared, he saw Sukai in a powerful stance, her palm open and facing him. He frowned. "What the Hell was-" Yet was ignored as Sukai turned around and spoke to her pupil. "Eventually, that's what you'll be able to do as well. But… Phase Swapping takes a really long time to learn, and I don't want to teach it to you yet."

After another heated argument which, unsurprisingly, Sukai won, Hayate took a seat on a stone and watched them teach and learn. The next few moves Sukai taught were very interesting, and his personal favourite was the creation of a large sphere of water over a foe which would shatter and fall apart, causing a million droplets to rain down from the sky on the targets. While it was more of a nuisance at Kiro's level, when Sukai demonstrated it she froze every single raindrop, causing countless pikes of rain to fall out of the sky.

Another hour or two passed. It was now well into the day, although they still weren't sure what time it was since Mizai had no clocks in her teahouse. Looking up, however, they came to the conclusion that it must be about early afternoon due to the sun's position.

Hayate was getting quite bored now, after watching Kiro get stronger and himself… Sitting down doing absolutely nothing. He almost considered asking Sukai to try and teach him Waterbending again, but he knew it would be completely futile. There was absolutely no hope for him in this field, unfortunately.

As the Sun began to set over the horizon, he re-entered the teahouse for dinner, eating a sort of roast that Mizai had prepared. The meal felt amazing going down, warm and welcomed by his starving stomach. As Kiro and Sukai entered, wet and tired, Hayate entered his and Kiro's room. He noticed, for the first time, that he still had his schoolbag with him, and he'd tossed it away in a corner. Due to its composition, it was waterproof and seemed to have survived his adventures, although it was badly torn and shouldn't be used for aesthetic and practical reasons. He unzipped it and pulled out some school papers, including some incomplete homework, and sighed as he reminisced. He was certain that the full shock of this phenomenon hadn't quite hit home yet and he'd burst into tears or an uncontrollable fit of anger soon enough.

For the next little while he looked over papers and schoolbooks. Thinking he could be the brains of their impromptu group, he frowned in disdain upon the realization that Kiro was smart as well. His Academy still provided amazing education on top of teaching Waterbending. But… If Kiro was the smart one, Sukai the strong one, what was he? The one that sat on the sidelines and watched?

As he opened his world history book, he smirked as he came to the "weapons in battle" page. Pictures of ornate and deadly armaments from around the world adorned the sheet, glistening in the lantern's eerie light. He analyzed each one and wondered if they would be practical. His mouth watered at the sight of the swords- elegant killing machines with glowing edges. Some, such as regal katana that took months to forge, virtually made his mouth water. The concept of wielding one was something of a dream for the boy. Others, more commonplace, such as jutte and sai, were less impressive and he contented himself on turning the page.

He was at this for a while as well; eventually, the Sun had completely set. Sighing, he closed the book, put it under his arm and entered the tearoom again to converse with Suyin out of boredom. The woman was sprawled out on a table, with her hands behind her head as she stared at the ceiling. Unsurprisingly, Mizai was still knitting. Upon hearing the door slide shut, Suyin's eyes focused themselves on Hayate. Seeing him enter, she got up. "More tea?" She asked, almost reluctantly. "Nah, no thanks." Hayate responded. He took a seat and yawned, then opened his book up at the table. "Just wanted some company is all. Sukai and Kiro are training, of course, so I'm pretty much alone right now."

He opened it to a page full of sickles and began reading the small blurbs of information underneath each one. Suyin seemed interested and she approached. "Weaponry?" She asked casually, to which Hayate nodded. "Yeah. I don't know how I'll ever get a weapon but it seems like it's the only way I can fight at all, or help Sukai… and Kiro if they ever need it. I'm pretty useless otherwise." He turned the page. Suyin smirked. "Oh, really? Boy, do I have stories for you, Hayate… Hey, you know what? Meet me outside the teahouse tomorrow morning." She smirked, and turned around. "Old lady," she began, addressing Mizai whose eyes never left her knitting needles and yarn, "I'm gonna hit the hay. It's still pretty early, but I worked longer than usual today, huh?" Knitting with her right hand, Mizai removed her left and motioned a "bye bye" to Suyin, who bowed casually and walked to her room.

Hayate continued reading with only Mizai for company. She would hum old tunes every so often, but otherwise they were both immersed in utter and complete silence. After countless minutes of reading, he turned around and bowed at Mizai, who offered him some tea again, to which he was prepared to refuse but decided to indulge in the end. Now, with mint tea in hand, he made his way to the room and sat down cross-legged on his sleeping bag.

"It's all in the stance, Kiro!" Screamed Sukai. Kiro had conjured the double helixes again, but they were crude and not smooth or strong enough to be able to contain anyone should the need arise. His stance was shoddy; he was far too focused on getting it done quickly. Kiro dropped his arms to his sides out of frustration, and Sukai watched the helixes collapse in a pathetic heap. Turning around, Kiro panted. "Can we… take a break? I'm tired as Hell…" It was completely out of character for Kiro to stop asking to train, to stop getting stronger, but he had been working all day. Sukai shrugged. "Sure… It's your funeral, when you can't hold your own in battle, anyways."

Enraged and ready to challenge Sukai to a fight again, Kiro decided against it and followed the girl into the teahouse. Instead of getting a drink in the tearoom, he entered his sleeping quarters immediately. Hayate seemed to be drinking tea peacefully.

Being taller than Hayate, he flicked on the hanging lamp above them that the other boy couldn't quite reach. It lit up the room, and Kiro lay down, yawning. Not a word was exchanged between the two and Kiro was exceptionally tempted to bend the tea in Hayate's cup and make it jump out or crawl into his nose, but he decided against it.

Eventually, he grabbed a pen and walked over to the desk, while Hayate continued drinking his tea and reading the pages with weapons on them in his history textbook in front of him. He smiled, then after a while, looked over his shoulder to see what Kiro was doing. The boy responded even before Hayate could pose his query.

"Poetry."

This made Hayate chuckle. _Poetry?_ What kind of idiot wrote poems to pass the time? He was about to make a snide remark, but Kiro promptly shut him up with a firm "If you say anything I will rip off your toenails in your sleep, Hayate." Shuddering, mainly because he knew Kiro would do it in a heartbeat, Hayate returned to his book.

Sukai changed and sprawled herself out on the sleeping bag. She quickly thought of the day's events and the minor progress Kiro had made today, then got up and flicked off her lamp. Afterwards, she tucked herself in and went to sleep peacefully and in complete comfort.

The boys did as well not long afterwards, although Hayate was still a bit nervous and worried for his toenails before he did.

The next morning, Hayate was up before everyone. He remembered Suyin's words strongly from last night, and was eager to see what she had in store. He had an itching feeling that it would be a weapon, a sword, perhaps? That would be amazing. Regardless, he ran a hand through his hair and got up, slid open the door and waved quickly at the knitting Mizai, denying her offer of more tea. He shot himself out the door, and realized this was the first time he'd been off of the teahouse's property, really _outside _for a while. The air smelt worse out here than the attractive incense indoors.

Suyin poked him from behind. He spun around and was amazed at what she held in her hands. "You like 'em?" She asked. "I've had them in my room for a while, and I figured I'd never use these since I never really loved them anyways… I'm more of a sword girl myself. I washed them off and everything."

What she was holding, of course, was a pair of Kusarigama. Two sickles attached by a chain, weapons that Hayate never thought he'd be able to handle. Picking them up, he slashed them awkwardly in the air once or twice for good measure. They were light, but still heavier than he imagined. It was difficult to keep them balanced, and Suyin pointed out that they were difficult to control. Still, Hayate mentioned that he would train. When asked if she could tutor Hayate, Suyin shook her head and said that she was far too occupied with her job. Hayate doubted it but wasn't about to argue.

For the next week the routine was the same for them all. Hayate would go outside and slash up trees with his Kusarigama, improving little without proper mentoring. He did learn a few flashy moves, though. Sukai and Kiro would practice Waterbending, Mizai would knit the days away and Suyin would either lie down on a table in the tearoom or do God knows what in her room, which no one had seen the inside of.

One morning at around noon, Hayate was tired of swinging his sickles and decided to see how much Kiro and Sukai had accomplished over the past week. Stepping inside and denying Mizai's offer for tea almost before she spoke, waving at Suyin whose hair covered her eyes as she slept, he walked to the hot springs.

Once there, he watched Sukai and Kiro practice a few attractive moves, and the boy had almost mastered the double helix from what he could see, even though Sukai's was far superior. He clutched his Kusarigama and the two, upon noticing him, stopped practicing and took a seat on the stones. They began discussing random topics, but the real controversy began when Kiro affirmed that he was ready for a real fight. Sukai scoffed. "Not yet, you're not." Hayate added that he definitely was, at which Kiro just laughed out loud. "You've barely had the things for a week… Can you even pick them up?" He chuckled, and Hayate fumed.

The minute he said that and Hayate was about to retaliate with words of his own, a crashing sound was heard from the building's direction. Turning around to face it, they were dismayed at the fact that they could only see a shadow behind the veil of thick steam. Striking a pose and clenching her fists, Sukai turned it to liquid, causing it to collapse on the floor below and reveal the form of the intruder; someone clothed entirely in black, their face covered by a bandana, shrouding all but their eyes.

"Who is that?!" Hayate asked, clutching his Kusarigama. Kiro smirked. "Dunno, but looks like an opportunity to me." He crouched near the water, and Sukai was about to comment but instead shrieked "LOOK OUT!"

The figure had vanished with speed unbelievable and charged towards Hayate. The boy instinctively raised his guard for protection to the face, but the assailant raised his right leg and attempted to hit Hayate in the head with a vicious kick. Attempting to parry, Hayate ducked and swung his Kusarigama at the foe's leg, trying to ensnare them in the chain and hopefully injure them in the process. However, the mysterious offender simply sidestepped to avoid the attack, and, using a knifehand attack, knocked Hayate against a rock about five feet away.

Kiro smirked. "My turn." The assailant faced him now, and Sukai bit her lip. As the attacker charged towards Kiro, he crouched to avoid a kick and grabbed the water with his hand, forming a water ball which he tossed with determination at his foe. However, it didn't move excessively quickly and the assailant dodged it as well. Kiro avoided a few more attacks, and then attempted to trap the foe in a double helix. The attack failed as well though, for the assailant managed to avoid the slow-forming shape. Kicking Kiro in the solar plexus, he was sent flying into the hot spring.

Just as the boy went soaring, Sukai had blasted five quick water whips at the foe. Taken by surprise, two managed to hit, tearing the dark clothing to reveal fair skin underneath. The foe was unfazed, though, and jumped towards Sukai, extending a fist. Prepared, Sukai created a barrier of ice which was promptly shattered, sending shards of frozen water in every direction.

Sukai cursed immaturely and fell to the ground, picking up a shard of ice. As she rolled, she tossed it like a knife towards the attacker, who instinctively raised an arm to stop it. At the last second, though, Sukai turned it to water and made it navigate its way to the back of the assailant's head, then freeze again to hit the skull. The offender dodged it, though, and Sukai rose, attempting it again with this time three frigid shards of ice.

Tired of running away, the assailant grabbed the shards of ice, two in one hand, and shattered them to powder with reflexes unbelievable. Sukai now attempted her own double helix, causing a DNA-shaped structure to rise out of the water and charge towards the attacker. That person, however, made the most of Sukai's vulnerability and approached from underneath, weaving between the segments of the helix and opening his palm, struck Sukai underneath the chin, sending her reeling into the hot springs as well.

Hayate woke up, groaning. He noticed Kiro and Sukai swimming in the hot springs, barely conscious and looking quite exhausted. The black figure was still standing. It smiled, and with a shard of ice on the ground, shredded the bandana that covered its face, revealing its true identity.


	8. The One that Got Away

.chapter eight, the one that got away

Fragments of fabric tumbled lightly, like wisps of smoke billowing down a hill, to the ground soothed and guided by the wind. The figure let drop the shard of ice and smirked with thin, but well-drawn lips. Hayate cringed as he attempted to regain focus; he was hurting in countless places from being ruthlessly shot into a stone. One of his sickles, out of his own incompetence, had drawn a thick line of crimson down his right leg. It was ironic that in his futile efforts he only injured himself. Perhaps not quite so ironic as it was sad.

His eyes adjusting, he made out the assailant's sleek form. Slowly, his eyes climbed up his body to eventually reach the face, at which point he choked on air out of pure surprise. _What, _he began thinking, _is going on?_

Before anyone could say otherwise, Kiro's form leapt out of the water. His dark hair covered his eyes in sullen bangs, and his glasses had fallen off and lay against a rock, battered and worn but not broken. In his hand, he clutched what seemed to be a dagger made of ice, although it didn't seem to be very well-constructed, as though it would fall apart at any second, the surface of the ice cracking mildly with every passing second.

With a primal scream the boy, obviously exhausted, tried to bring the weapon down on the now-unmasked villain. The latter, not expecting the attack, raised his arms above his head in defence, but needlessly; the dagger fell apart at the last second, collapsing to the ground. Kiro was still mid-flight, though, and crashed into the figure, knocking him down. Coating his boot in water and freezing it, Kiro kicked the assailant but missed, still partially blinded by the curtain of hair across his optics.

In a sleek move the assailant caught Kiro's oncoming onslaught and retaliated, pulling a dangerous-looking katana, or samurai sword, from a hilt on his waist and slashed at Kiro's face, missing his flesh by mere centimetres and severing the bangs that clouded his vision. Astounded and petrified, Kiro's jaw hit the floor in recognition of the character in front of him.

It was Suyin.

The waitress smirked and raised her weapon in the air before sheathing it. "Crap, Kiro." She laughed. Sukai slowly came to and climbed out of the water, Hayate rising as well. The three of them slowly joined her laughing with very nervous chuckles, wondering why this woman was trying to kill them. Sukai and Hayate were, despite the circumstances, also chuckling at Kiro's now-worse-than-before hairdo.

"I haven't gotten a workout in a long time. The old lady," she began, cracking her knuckles with a satisfied sigh, "is gonna have to give me a day off." Her eyes opened wide at the cut on Hayate's leg. "As much as I beat you guys up I'm pretty sure I didn't do that."

She approached him, and, grabbing another shard of ice on the floor, severed the lower part of her left sleeve. Slicing it down the middle, it revealed a good ten small cylindrical bamboo items tucked into pouches. Choosing one at random, Suyin picked it out and pressed a button at the top, watching a glass vial fall out the bottom. She caught it and Hayate noticed that inside there was a clear liquid that was tinted a very light, almost unnoticeable shade of red.

She dipped her index finger inside and swiped Hayate's wound with her digit. He cringed- it felt cold. Suyin shrugged as she got up. "It's only a small cut. It probably won't even leave a scar, you're lucky. It could have dug way into your leg and then you'd pretty much be screwed." She severed the lower part of her right sleeve and, slicing it down the middle as well, tossed it at Hayate. "Just wipe it off for now and we'll disinfect it inside." She turned around and walked on over to the door that led into the teahouse, almost disappearing into the fog as she distanced herself away from them. Pulling the door open, she turned her head. "Are you coming?"

Sukai spoke first, her voice sounding quite exasperated. "Hold it! I mean, you just tried to kill us! What's the deal, and why," her tone of voice fell to a rather morbid deep one, "didn't you finish the job?" Suyin sighed. "I didn't try to _kill _you. I was completely taking it easy on you guys- except you, Sukai, you're pretty good." Kiro and Hayate scowled while Sukai beamed subtly. "If I really wanted to kill you, I would've. I just couldn't overhear all your conversations about wanting to fight someone for real over the past few days and wanted to show you just what a real fight is like, how tiring, _exhausting_, that small little battle was." Hayate, Kiro and Sukai didn't notice but they all felt drained, and truly wanted to just crash and go to sleep. "You should be thanking me, huh? Now c'mon inside, you're letting the incense out."

Slowly, Hayate began limping over with a wary Sukai and Kiro in the lead. The boy closed the door behind him and left his sickles on the stones outside, not wanting to toy with those implements at the moment.

Suyin slid open the door that led into the tearoom, uttering "Grandma?" as she took a step in. After one step only, though, a loud noise was heard as Mizai, standing on top of the table most adjacent to the door, slapped the woman with a frying pan.

Suyin twitched and fell to the floor, fake tears falling down her cheeks. The three others now felt particularly pathetic that a frying pan could inflict more damage than the three of them combined. Rising to her feet and rubbing her head, Suyin groaned. "Old lady, what was that for?"

Mizai kicked her in the shin, jumping down from the table. "What do you think? I saw how you toyed with those children. You're working overtime tonight, you know!" Suyin scowled and unslung the sword, tossing it against a wall and sat down at a table. "Where's the fairness in that, old lady? They practically asked for it, and it's been three freaking years since I even touched a sword." She groaned loudly, with Sukai, Kiro and Hayate staring at each other nervously, feeling out of place.

The rest of the day went by quietly and quickly; Mizai bandaged Hayate's leg, and Sukai eventually convinced Kiro to let her try and fix his abominable new hairstyle.

As Hayate sat on a table with a crouching Mizai wrapping strips of white around his wound, he cringed when she tightened them, stinging his lower leg. Suyin scoffed. "You should see the scars I got from when I-" Mizai turned around and waved her hand with speed the boy didn't think her capable of. Scalding tea water from a teapot on a table a bit farther away covered her mouth in a Sukai-esque move. Suyin screeched a muffled scream as the boiling liquid tore at her skin. In a second, the older woman dropped the technique, allowing the water to fall to the floor. The conversation ended there as Suyin frowned and leaned back on a table, pushing her hair over her eyes and closing them.

Kiro sat cross-legged in his room, with Sukai on a chair behind him. She had with her a pair of scissors obviously not intended for cutting hair, but was trying to render his new hairstyle a bit more bearable, although she was doing quite the terrible job. Locks and clumps fell every so often, to the point that Kiro eventually demanded she stop.

"Oh good God, Sukai, what have you _done _to me?!"

His hair was long in some places, short in others and in a sparse few places, completely nonexistent. He scowled and ordered that she leave the room immediately. Frowning, she grabbed the chair and brought it back to the table, on which an open notepad lay. Curious, she looked at it with a smile. "What's this, Kiro?" She began to read a few words. "A rose that wilts will never-"

With passion and fury Kiro sprinted to the desk and shut the notepad forcefully, grabbed Sukai's collar at the back and quite literally dragged her kicking and screaming across the room to the door, which he threw her out of and slid his door shut with a slam behind her. She rolled her eyes and walked towards the hot springs, hoping to relax a bit. As she walked, however, she couldn't help but notice the door directly parallel to the one that lead to the hot springs; it had always been closed, but this time it was open a sliver. Curiosity got the best of her. "I'll just close the door. Whoever it belongs to will have wanted that."

As she walked towards it, she grabbed it and slid it to the point that the door was completely open. She followed the door with her eyes. "Oops," she began, switching her gaze to the room in front of her. She chuckled and spoke sarcastically. "Looks like I shut it in the wrong direction, silly me-"

Her jaw hit the floor.

Hayate sat upon a rock in the hot springs- having been there long before Sukai contemplated entering. He held his Kusarigama; the scythes that almost took his life. Was he really that terrible? It had been a whole week, after all…

Tying the weapons together as Suyin had showed him and holding them in a manner that would make it near impossible for him to stab himself accidentally, he slid open the door and entered the hall, only to see the stupefied Sukai. He spoke her name once or twice, but the girl didn't so much as flinch, causing him to walk near her and share her shock as he looked inside the room.

The tatami-covered floors were bland compared to the walls, adorned with most every type of weapon imaginable. Different shapes and sizes of gleaming blades shimmered proudly. Dull, wooden weapons even emanated danger- Hayate also noticed a pair of Kusarigama that seemed far superior to his in design, at least.

The two looked at each other nervously. The rest of the room was quite the disaster; piles of dirty laundry sprawled everywhere for one. They kept staring, dumbfounded, until their hearts skipped a beat as they heard the familiar sliding sound of a door- what would Mizai or Suyin say if they saw them?

Fortunately, the door was Kiro's and they hastily closed the entrance to the weapons room, despite Kiro's order to leave it open for him to see. In fact, if it weren't for the sound of a major commotion from the main tearoom, Kiro would have most likely prevailed in the argument. As they entered the room, they seemed slightly repulsed at the sight.

Suyin was holding up a man; battered and worn. Dark, oily hair fell far beneath his shoulders and his eyes seemed somewhat lifeless. Stubble lined his chin and upper lip, and he was clothed in torn green and gold robes- earth nation. At this realization Kiro and Sukai spat subtly while Hayate cringed.

But the condition he was in was the real shock- cuts, bruises and scrapes scarred most of his face, along with dried blood. However, as Suyin adjusted her arm to support him better, he shrieked of pain and, horrified, Suyin let him fall.

As he landed to the ground with an awkward thump, Mizai approached, slapped Suyin in the back of the leg and kneeled down. The man was facing up, she slit his shirt with a knife placed on a table with only a bit of difficulty; there were so many tears one could have used their hands. As she pried the fabric apart, they all shuddered at the sight of a massive, still-red cut that seemed excruciatingly deep and was slashed across his entire chest, along with countless smaller, but still significant cuts as well.

Suyin and Mizai didn't seem overly fazed, but Hayate and Sukai were thoroughly disgusted. Kiro was as well, no matter how much he tried to conceal the fact by biting the inside of his cheek to keep a straight face.

Impulsively, Suyin got up and pushed the three aside, running into the hall and charging into the weapons room, coming out with a large terra-cotta jar that Sukai and Hayate hadn't noticed earlier. Pulling off the lid, the three noticed that Mizai had already covered the wound with some sort of serum and was now applying the same yellowish liquid to his face. Suyin, however, was taking clumps of white powder out of the jar and putting it over the serum. The man groaned once or twice.

_At least he's alive. _Hayate thought.

Once the two women finished, all was quiet for a good two minutes- no one dared speak. Eventually, Mizai summoned water- notably warm but not quite boiling as her teabender motto exclaimed, and washed off the serum and powder. To the amazement of the three children the wounds had scarred over and all traces of blood were nonexistent; even the massive injury on his chest had slimmed down drastically and lost most of its crimson hue. The man seemed to be at ease, unconscious, but comfortable.

When Mizai waved them away, they went about their other business. Suyin decided to make herself some tea, Kiro returned to his room to write poetry, Sukai let herself sink into the hot springs and Hayate climbed in a tree, staring at the sky.

_I wonder what happened to that man._

His Kusarigama hung from a branch, and he sighed upon looking at them. The two weapons weren't very large, nor were they ridiculously heavy but he still found them awkward to control. He had read a book in which the main character, at some point, had to learn to use a weapon… A sword, he remembered. There was a passage that seemed to emerge from the depths of his subconscious at this random time and he cringed.

_In order to truly be able to use your weapon, it must be an extension of your person. The sword, an extension of your arm. Moving it, you move yourself. Let your own power flow into the weapon…_

And then of course the protagonist proceeded to demolish the foes in an unprecedented display of skill.

Hayate sighed. Stuff like that would never happen. This was real life…

He spent a while longer staring at the clouds and climbed down eventually, slowly making his way to the door and walking into the teahouse. He was surprised to see the man, bandaged, sitting on a cushion beside Mizai; he was speaking.

"You're not allowed to leave." He coughed. "…It all happened so fast… Senator Bao ordered it, and all of a sudden every man in the city, even the women Earthbenders, were called on to come to the City of Flower Petals. No one really knew why; it was such a weird action and it came out of nowhere, but we were literally faced with this option or death. A lot of people chose the latter, anyways…" He coughed again, and Hayate shuddered when blood flew out of his mouth and landed on the floor. Mizai tried to comfort him, patting him on the back.

"I couldn't stand it anymore… We had the city under our control for more than a week, but the citizens were living lifes of Hell; killing themselves just to be freed of our power. We don't even know how to run this city, it's falling apart… It's like the Senator just sent us here to take the city and doesn't care what happens afterwards…" Once more, a fountain of crimson spewed from his mouth and a stray tear fell from his eye, no matter how hard he tried to keep it back.

"Can you honestly tell me…" He said to Mizai, "Am I going to die?"

The woman denied the fact completely, but Suyin, who was drinking her tea at another table to give the two their space, seemed to know better. Hayate bowed at the man and at Mizai, although neither of them really cared at that moment, and he walked past Suyin to enter his room.

Seemingly, Kiro had heard the entire conversation as well. "The walls are thin," he reasoned, "so long as it's quiet in here it's not a challenge to hear what's going on right in the next room."

"But, what do you think's gonna happen to that guy? He looks pretty beat up." Kiro shrugged. "Suyin and Mizai did the best they could possibly have, that medicine is some of the best you'll ever find for healing wounds like that. But… I don't really think the wounds are the biggest problem there. He has a lot of internal bleeding, at least that's what Mizai says, and there's no way she can fix that with the stuff she has here. His heart rate's low too, and his mind's probably warped from the battle… You know, seeing so many people die. It can drive people insane." He shrugged, getting up from his chair and closing his notebook decisively, before pocketing it. "I can't say that I care. He wanted us dead, we wanted him dead. He's going to die, so we win."

Hayate shivered in fear at Kiro's cold statement that he uttered without the slightest hint of hesitation. Seeing the fear in Hayate's eyes, Kiro inquired "What? I'm not _wrong._ He deserved this, he completely had it coming." Hayate had to admit he was right. During the past week, he and Kiro had been able to live with each other, since there was no other choice, but there was still so much about Kiro that he wanted to destroy.

The rest of the day was rather eventless; dinner was quiet even though everyone ate at the same time; the man, who was named Vu, apparently, skipped the meal and lay down in the room adjacent to the Weapons Room. After a few polite thank yous, the three went to their respective rooms and slept.

The morning was quiet. Hayate got up first again, as became habit, and he walked into the main tearoom. He noticed, surprised, that his shirt had now a black flower that resembled Sukai's sewed onto the left sleeve. He shrugged it off, though, deciding that Suyin or Mizai must have done it for some reason or another. He'd ask them right away.

As he entered the tearoom, the scent of incense crawling into his nostrils, he was surprised at the scene. Normally, Suyin and Mizai were on different sides of it, Mizai knitting or drinking tea with Suyin lying down like a rag doll on a table, staring at the ceiling… Today, though, they sat facing each other at a table, turning around when they noticed Hayate walking in. Both of their arms had the black flower sewed on.

_What the…_ Hayate thought. Suyin bit her lip, and sighed. "Vu died." She said, coldly.

Stupefied; Hayate remained frozen in place.

_Dead?_

It was a thought that haunted him all evening, he figured that Kiro was right and that the only LOGICAL thought was that Vu would die. And he shouldn't care, Vu wanted him dead anyways.

So why was he so sad?


	9. The Past, and Mutiny

.chapter nine, the past, and mutiny. 

While Hayate stood, dumbstruck, Kiro awoke and entered the main tearoom. He yawned, and, upon hearing the grim news, didn't seem fazed. "I told you, didn't I?" He said to Hayate without making eye contact. His head pulsing, Hayate felt the urge to drive his fist into Kiro's stomach, and watch the fool buckle over and collapse on the ground, swallowing his words, somewhat literally.

Of course Hayate didn't.

He didn't notice Sukai enter either, but she seemed just as surprised and mournful as he was.

After an impromptu moment of silence, Suyin got up and yawned. "I stayed up… all night." She said, somewhat solemnly. "Old lady, I'm going to bed." She rose, and pushed the three aside, opening the sliding door and making her way down the hall. Kiro seemed nonchalant and stared at the ceiling, hands in the pockets of his white button-up shirt. Hayate, who was staring around the room but mostly at the floor, didn't notice a flower stitched into Kiro's sleeve; it must have been on his jacket.

Sukai was the only one that followed Suyin with her eyes. As the woman slowly walked into her room, the girl gasped as she opened the door to the "weapons room" just as the door leading to the main tearoom shut itself firmly. While Hayate and Kiro went to get something to eat, Sukai apologized and said she would like to change out of her pyjamas, and entered the incense-filled hallway.

Carefully, she walked over to the door leading to the weapons room. Pressing her ear against it, she realized that nothing could be heard. Did Suyin really come into this room, or was it only her imagination?

Either way, she slowly slid it open and, noticing no one inside, entered. She made her way to the center of the room and shuddered at the sharp, sickled and bludgeoning objects hanging on the walls around her. Taking another step, she groaned as a dirty sock lodged itself in between her toes and as she stepped on something wet. Not wanting to know what the latter was, she instead tried to examine the room further.

She noticed that, unlike theirs, it was better furnished. Nevertheless, the two sofas and armoire were almost invisible underneath the mountain of sheer trash. Then, as another door slid open and footsteps approached, she broke out in a cold sweat. Looking for a hiding spot, she almost impulsively dove into a pile of laundry when she heard a voice from the hall call her name.

"Sukai?"

Pivoting around, her hair fluttering about, she sighed in relief when she saw Kiro and Hayate. "Oh, it's only you two." They both walked in, Hayate leading the way, with Kiro examining the room carefully. "I was afraid you might be-"

"What the Hell?" Sukai, Kiro and Hayate's eyes opened wide as a frustrated Suyin emerged from the massive tower of dirty clothing situated in the center of the room. She swore. "Way to make a lot of noise." Closing her eyes, it was quiet for a moment, and then she sighed. "No use. I've lost my sleep." She took a seat on her tower of laundry as opposed to being submerged in it, and continued. "Losers."

An awkward silence filled the room, when Kiro finally spoke up. "Suyin, why," he began, shifting his eye contact to a weapon on the wall, "is your room filled with all of these weapons?"

She shrugged. "I'd love to explain it, but then I'd have to start way back and I don't have the ti-" Almost too quickly, Sukai spoke up. "It's okay, we have nothing to do anyways. We're listening." She had been curious as to who this Suyin woman really was. Suyin, slightly perplexed at the sudden response, shrugged it off and began telling her story.

"Well, for starters, I'm not even supposed to exist." She sneered. "I'd love to say my past was epic, full of action, adventure and tragedy, but it's just sad. Sad like pathetic more than sad like "cry me a river". I guess I'll start at the beginning…

My mom and dad were both Fire Navy ship captains. They knew each other really on a hi-bye basis. My dad was fit but pretty big and my mom, apparently, was beautiful. Anyways, my mom's sister, my aunt, was sub-captain of my dad's ship. My mom visited her one night, but got into my dad's cabin by mistake. The rest is history, I guess, and a month or so later my mom figured out she was pregnant.

Since they weren't married and it'd be scandalous for anyone to know, she did a really stupid thing after four months when she started "showing", and slashed her right leg with a knife. She blamed it on a battle injury and requested five months recovery time. Her request was denied, though, since as bad as the wound was it wasn't bad enough for five months. Frustrated, she sliced her left leg to the point that she pretended walking was impossible, and eventually she got the time she wanted.

Then she gave birth and gave me to my aunt, who claimed to have adopted me. Then my mom died from her legs, which freaking got infected when she slashed open the scars because she didn't want to get back to work right after giving birth." Sukai and Hayate cringed, with even Kiro looking slightly uncomfortable. "The slut deserved it." Uncomfortable, the three shifted as she continued her tale.

"So I didn't even know anything about having a dad and thought that my aunt was my mom, and you only needed a mommy. After all, there were no other kids on the boat, let alone _babies. _My aunt raised me until I was about seven, at which point she, a forty year old sailor, died from sickness. That life is tough, you know.

At that point my dad came clean, but I could never really think of him as my dad. He didn't really care, I don't think. I knew the boat pretty well so I just scavenged from the kitchens and killed time by practicing acrobatic moves my aunt taught me. I was pretty flexible, so I could do the splits really well and stuff. Other than that, I slept and wandered around the ship.

When I was eleven my dad and the sailors went to raid a small, seceding Fire Nation island, but my dad tripped on the battleground and landed on his stomach. A soldier stabbed him in the back and he died. I was watching from the boat, and he didn't make it farther than the beach. I felt a bit sad, but more grossed out by the whole thing since I had no real emotional attraction to him at all.

Everyone else came back to the ship safe, for the most part, and we set sail. No one really knew how to control it, so we pretty much spent the next few weeks going wherever the tide would take us. A lot of stuff happened, and in the end the ship sunk and I woke up in a small hut in the Earth Nation somewhere." She took a deep breath. "Then, more stuff happened and I ended up here a few years ago."

Frustrated at the brisk end to the story, Sukai growled. "That doesn't explain why you have an _arsenal _in here." Suyin shrugged. "I'll tell you that one later, but you should know that-" She stopped talking. "Do you guys hear that?" They listened carefully but no sound came to their ears. "It's obvious, isn't it? I mean, listen…"

They still could hear nothing.

Suyin grinned from ear to ear and ran towards the outer wall of her room, then pressed her ear against it. She motioned to the others to come; all they heard was the constant flowing of the stream. "Don't you guys… Can't you tell that there's…"

They looked perplexed.

Suyin shrugged and spoke while picking up a long bo staff from the wall. Strange symbols were embossed into the sides, and no one could decipher them on the spot. She ran for the door leading into the hall and pulled it open, filling the room with the unique scent of incense. "C'mon."

They looked at each other, unsure, but decided to comply with Suyin who was already on her way.

"Sir, I believe we're lost."

A tall, thin man with a long, oily moustache falling well beneath his chin posed his inquiry. His clothing was composed of various black undergarments with the main piece being an emerald vest. He addressed a short, stouter man who was struggling with a navigation wheel and cursing all the while.

"Are you doubting me?!" He spat, followed by countless other swears.

The taller man frowned. "We were supposed to bring this cargo to Lanzho City three days ago; if this map is correct, and maps tend to be most of the time, we are currently off the city of Sakuramura in the Southern Water tribe. Therefore, I can conclude that we are completely and hopelessly lost."

The short man cursed.

"Will you shut up and stop doubting your captain?"

At this, the taller man smirked. He reached into a loose pocket and pulled out a long, thin dagger which glistened in the sunlight. In a swift motion, he brought the frigid metal to the front of the man's neck, and it drew a thin line of blood from the mass of fat accumulated beneath his chin. He choked. "What is the meaning of-"

"Mutiny."

The larger man fell backwards all of a sudden. "You're going to commit mutiny alone? Haw, haw!" His immature chuckle made the taller assailant twitch. "Everyone, get him!" Spontaneously a dozen members of the crew leapt out from beneath the deck, and charged towards the taller man. They all sported rusted knives, which the man parried all too easily. The fat captain roared angrily as two of his crewmates fell to the other's superior swordplay, and the rest of the crew was more than hesitant to continue the assault. "Damn you, Guai!" He swore, spitting on the ground and drawing a cutlass from his waist.

"En garde." The man named Guai mouthed suavely. He kicked the deck with his right foot and from the boards of wood appeared an earthen blade. The captain cursed, yelled and charged.

He and Guai exchanged blows a few times although it was still clear that the latter was much quicker and able with his weapon. "Curses!" Shouted the captain. Guai smirked and turned his wrist, forcing the captain's cutlass out of his sweaty grip. "And that, Captain Biao," Guai began as the cutlass fell with a metallic clang to the ground, "is how it's done."

In a truly Spartan fasion, he raised his foot and thrust forward, slamming into the captain's solar plexus and driving him several feet backwards. The man coughed dryly once or twice, after which Guai clutched his blade and gripped it by the slicing edge, then rammed the hilt into his stomach, forcing him off the edge and into the waves. Guai sneered, and turned around to face his new crew.

"Well, we're turning around. We were supposed to be at Lanzho weeks ago. They probably think we're dead, so we can surprise them when we arrive with our merchandise. Better late then never." The crew members remained unmoving. "Well, what are you standing around doing nothing for?!" Guai fumed, snapping his fingers. "Get to your positions, now!" They complied, although reluctant. Rotating the navigation wheel several times, Guai smiled broadly.

"It's good to be king." He said to no one in particular.

All of a sudden time seemed to move in slow motion as a rotating shuriken approached, a weapon commonly used by ninja that was flat, circular, bearing four spikes and about ten centimeters from one tip of a spike to its symmetrical other. It planted itself in the wood inches from Guai's own face, and he remained frozen with terror. Was his crew already turning against him?

Two more of the weapons came forth, one missing and another skimming his right arm, cutting the black cloth and drawing a thin line of blood. He scoffed and searched for the source of the assault, but couldn't see anyone. "Come out, and show yourself, coward!" He once more conjured his blade of wood and stared into the void, expecting another onslaught, for a few seconds. He then heard screams from beneath his feet and a loud rumbling; suddenly the entire crew poured out, followed by a spontaneous stream of water. That wasn't any ordinary leak- the water was flowing in far too quickly, so violently. He cursed and leaned over a rail only to see that the flow had stopped, but every member of the crew was exposed- the offender, obviously an outsider, could now take them out in one quick sweep. But what was he to do? Returning underneath was suicidal with the tons of water that were waiting- No, they would fight.

"To arms!"

Each man took out a dagger, and Guai cringed at the realization that their weapons were such pathetic trinkets. Swearing, he ran over to the edge of the ship and crouched, his weight on his back leg and his front leg very close to the body. His front heel was raised, and he brought it down with force. A mass of earth from the shore dislocated itself and landed with a violent crash onto the ship. Punching it with determination, countless daggers of earth appeared and collapsed to the ground. Their blades were sharp; lined with stones. Guai panted heavily; just doing that was quite draining. Immediately every member of the crew had a new weapon with dozens to spare, and Guai waited for them to make the next move.

They waited a minute or two in silence, and then it came.

Like a bullet, a sphere of water about three inches across slammed into the wood at the foot of one crewmember. Guai swore and pointed towards a thicket of bushes. "They're in there!" A younger, more well-dressed man with pitch black hair and blazing red tips snapped his right finger, conjuring a minute spark which lit one of the boards of the ship on fire. Removing that board, he tossed it to another man who divided it into five equal pieces. Another man attached a strange piece of metal to the blazing end, miraculously without catching fire himself. All of a sudden five bows were out and strung, and the makeshift arrows were shot without a moment's hesitation towards the foliage.

A wall of water erected itself in between the projectiles and the leaves, stopping the blazing arms in a spontaneous steam. The water suddenly vanished in a smokescreen, having been pushed to the point of evaporation.

From the steam all of a sudden countless shuriken appeared, hitting many of their targets causing at least a fifth of the crew to collapse to the ground. Guai swore as one of the weapons nearly implanted itself in his shoulder blade. Grabbing two of the daggers himself, he forgot his fatigue and tossed them with exceptional force towards the bushes.

"What did you do to them, Suyin?"

From behind the shield of green Hayate inquired as to how exactly Suyin had managed to hit all of her targets from behind a veil of smoke, but she shrugged him off saying that this was not the time. After he posed his second query she sneered. "They're not dead, or at least, I didn't try to kill them. I just aimed straight at the pressure points and knocked them out cold."

Kiro and Sukai were breathing deeply; Kiro being responsible for a failed barrage of water bullets, only one of which even hit the boat. Sukai created a tower of water and turned it to steam quickly- she was tiring fast. Suyin, however, had yet to break a sweat. As per usual, Hayate felt utterly useless.

"Can I do something now?" He asked innocently, clutching his Kusarigama.

"No." Suyin answered bluntly.

"Ssh." Sukai added, hushing him.

"You couldn't do anything if you wanted to, Hayate, so I suggest you-"

"KNIVES!"

Hayate saw them coming first and covered his face instinctively, but the worry was needless as Kiro and Sukai neutralized them inches from the thicket.

"They know we're here. Isn't the entire concept of a surprise attack and hiding in the bushes now completely useless?" Hayate asked the three of them. They all groaned, but agreed that this was a now needless precaution. "Alright, Hayate, you'll get to do something now. We need a plan, so, everyone listen up…" Suyin began before forcing the three into a huddle.

Guai cursed. "And what did I do to deserve this?" He wondered aloud. There seemed to be no action coming from the bush, so he turned to his crew. "Prepare another barrage of blazing boards-this time, fire only two at a time and blast them once the barrier of water falls so they won't have time to react. That'll take care of them once and for-"

"Tidal Wave!"

A wall of water grew ominously and casted a shadow over the ship. Everyone stared dumbfounded at their imminent doom as it began to fall down towards them. When it was only a few feet from reaching them, it froze solid. They stared up at it, amazed.

"Now, Sukai!"

Suddenly part of the frozen wave evaporated, revealing a small hole through which a double helix of water appeared and divided to form two separate helixes, pinning down two crew members. Spontaneously, the entire wave unfroze itself and drenched the men below. A second later two waves shot Suyin and Hayate onto the ship, having the upper hand on the soaking crew. Hayate was nervous, but he knew that with Suyin by his side and the two Waterbenders backing them up, there was nothing to fear.

Randomly, Suyin turned around and ran inside the ship, below the deck. Hayate yelled after her. "Where are you going, Suyin?!" She brushed him off. "Hold 'em off for now, I'll be back in a second!"

He turned around, clutching a scythe in each hand. The men laughed heartily. "It's just a kid!" Came one. "We can take him out without even trying!" They laughed again. Hayate growled with a strange sensation of rage. He remembered that Suyin told him they were Earthbenders; they were the ones that destroyed Sakuramura. And they were taunting him now.

Seemingly to humor him, one man picked up his old rusty blade and walked over to him. "Are you ready, kid? I'll really take it easy, so try to not die on the first hit." He slowly and melodramatically swiped the blade from left to right. Hayate sneered and grabbed the scythe on the right and threw it in the air around the man's thick neck. The chain was around it, and Hayate smirked at the realization that the practice Suyin made him go through was apparently worth it. Grabbing both scythes, he pulled hard and, using all of his body weight, easily dragged the man to the ground, who fell unconscious with a groan.

Two other men watching scowled angrily. "Brat… He even took it easy on you!" They wielded their new, far more dangerous slicing weapons. At once, they both charged and Hayate felt his heart beat three times as quickly as usual. He tried to keep his calm and watched as the men approached, doing exactly as Suyin said, making his first priority the avoidance of their slicing arms. As the weapons fell down towards him, he sidestepped and watched the men growl as they missed. Smirking, he tossed the chain in the air, trying to weave it around one of their necks as he did to the first. However, he missed and the second scythe fell with a metallic clang to the ground. He swore and picked it up, but just as he regained his footing he noticed that one of the men was charging forward with his blade poised and ready to inflict death.

Instinctively, Hayate swung the kusarigama, watching as it shot through the air, cutting it like a knife through paper. With a sickening noise, the tip of the scythe dug into the assailant's left shoulder. He yelled a terrible scream and his weapon fell to the ground. Hayate grinned, although quite disturbed at the sight of the crimson flowing out of his arm. He pulled hard and removed his weapon, and the attacker fell with a thud.

below

The other man was stunned, so Hayate took it easy and tried to swing his weapon once more around his neck, but stopped his movement less than halfway through due to a sudden and terrible, unbearable pain.

If he turned around he would have seen that the man he just took down was still very conscious, and managed to dig his blade into Hayate's right lower leg. No longer able to sustain his balance, Hayate collapsed. It felt as though his leg was being torn apart; as though it blew up. He winced in pain, but, gathering the last of his strength, tripped the standing man in front of him with his kusarigama's chain.

After that success, he reached back with his right arm and pried the knife loose, cringing as it finally freed him of his suffering. Slowly, he rose and managed to stand once more on two feet, regardless of how faulty his balance was. However, there were still a good twenty men on board not including Guai, and he was dreaming in technicolor if ever he was expected to defeat them all and retain his life. Almost as though he read his mind, one of the crew members yelled a command.

"He got lucky with one, and really lucky with two! You could see how tough it was for him… Let's go five against one! He'll be screwed then, huh?"

Immediately five of the bandits at random charged towards Hayate, who fumbled with the two scythes. _Am I… Supposed to beat them all? I can't even stand… I'm so screwed…_

Losing his grip on the weapons, he knew it would end this way, and closed his eyes tightly.

_I don't want to die, I don't want to die!_


	10. Versus Guai, and the Decision

.chapter ten, versus Guai, and the decision. 

As the five men closed in on Hayate, a dome of water surrounded him and froze solid in seconds. The sound of the knives against ice filled his ears as the boy suddenly felt very cold.

He looked up and smiled broadly upon realizing that he would live to see another day. His leg screamed with the bold rush of pain that seared through every fabric of his limb, but he was far more unnerved by the fact that the enemies kept on increasing in number.

"It's just ice, we'll cut through it in a few strong hits!"

Almost as he said that a blade managed to cause a significant crack on the orb's surface. Hayate gulped and closed his eyes again. More blows came to the sphere and shards of ice began flying in every direction.

Farther away, Kiro cringed while spinning several times. During his body rotations he would occasionally stop abruptly to thrust out his palm, or lean down on his leg and raise his arm, then continue rotating. Beads of sweat fell off his forehead and Sukai hissed at him. "Hurry up, they're gonna break through!"

"Shut up!" He retorted, still rotating furiously. Because they were all attacking at different parts of the frozen sphere, it was difficult, perhaps even impossible, for him to repair them all. Once he mended one area, two others would get pierced. Seeing the massive amount of stress and trouble Kiro was dealing with, Sukai took a deep breath and proceded with her own attack.

She released the frozen wave and watched as it slowly washed people to the back of the boat. With a huge sigh and a bit of a wince, she forced her fists open, releasing the water into a mist. Drained of all energy, she fell to her knees and began breathing deeply.

Back on the ship, Hayate sneered as the smoke cleared and he saw the mass of foes tied up with a surprisingly long coil of rope. The sphere around him vanished and, mentally, he thanked Kiro.

Suyin yawned, holding the other end of the rope, which was collected in a barrel. "Sorry about that, Hayate." She said. "But I don't think we should kill these guys. That's why I found this rope, which there always is on a ship and…" She pointed to a very small, wooden, probably seaworthy craft. "…This emergency escape boat!" She smiled. "That's all of them, right?"

"I'm afraid not, madam."

From above, Guai fell towards Suyin, his blade outstretched in his right hand, ready to impale the woman from the top. Almost as though she anticipated the assault, Suyin fell on her back and kicked the air with her right leg, redirecting Guai's arm and swinging her left, hit him in the chest and sent him flying. Surprisingly he recovered from the attack quite easily and stood up once more, barely fazed.

"Name yourself!" He shouted.

Suyin chuckled. "Name myself? Why so formal?" She charged towards him and rose her right arm in a powerful uppercut, nailing him in the stomach. He didn't make any attempt to avoid it and only grinned, despite the fact that he was once more shot backwards across the deck.

As he rose again, he sneered and spoke in a hauntingly whiny voice. "That's all you can manage, madam? How disappointing." He punched the deck and from across the river a huge block of earth disconnected itself and landed with a thud on the ship. He took his blade and thrust it into the block, sneering. Suyin and Hayate were both curious as to what he was doing.

A moment later he pulled it out, and they were stunned to see that it now took on a shimmering cutting edge. "My blade absorbed the minerals in the earth and," he sprinted towards Suyin, "can now cut anything!" He swung it in a manner to behead Suyin, but she ducked and his oversized butter knife only tore at air. Reaching down, she grabbed a dagger that one of the soldiers dropped, and slit the man's upper body clothing. The fabric fell apart then and fell to the ground, and Suyin grinned in satisfaction.

He was wearing a form of chain metal weaved out of minerals in the earth; she'd seen the technique before. It took most, if not all, of the brunt of physical attacks. But there were countless ways around it, and now that her hypothesis had been thoroughly validated, she rolled backwards and stood up.

"This is a waste of time." She grabbed her bo staff which, until recently, had been tied to her back. Removing it, she spun it once or twice for good measure and in a stunning display of fancy footwork, appeared behind Guai and slammed the weapon into the back of his skull- a very vulnerable and unprotected part of his person. He screamed in pain and fell forward on his knees.

"Bitch…" He cursed, rather uncharacteristically for someone so courteous. Suyin seemed surprised that he was still awake. Swinging her staff quickly and powerfully, she rammed it into his left temple. This blow succeeded in rendering him unconscious, and he fell with a thump to the floor.

After a while, the yelling soldiers and their motionless commander were put on the escape boat and were well on their way to, judging by the tide, the Eastern Air Temple. Suyin sneered at the thought. The Air Monks would be more than pleased to deal with such ruffians.

Hayate took in deep breaths as Mizai slowly rubbed ointment on his leg, which had finally stopped bleeding. He was lying down on his sleeping bag in his room at the teahouse- Suyin, Sukai and Kiro all seemed to be elsewhere at the moment, but he didn't mind or really notice, for that matter. Just as he was about to ask Mizai if he was going to be alright, he felt a painful rush of ice that chilled his lower leg. He winced and Mizai shushed him.

"Don't make any physical effort now- This medicine will only work if you're not moving an inch." Reluctantly, he nodded and closed his eyes, not moving anymore.

_What was that whole ship thing all about?_

Inside Suyin's room, Kiro sat cross-legged beside Sukai as Suyin leaned against a pile of old clothing. They were all quiet when Kiro couldn't help but blurt: "Why are we here again?" Sukai hissed at him subtly while Suyin bit her lip.

"I was thinking…" She stood up slowly. "You remember Vu? The Earth Nation soldier that died here a few days ago? Well, he mentioned someone named Senator Bao and it turns out that Grandma knew the guy." Sukai and Kiro suddenly seemed interested. "Yeah. Apparently he popped in to the Teahouse a dozen years ago- He was only a teenager at the time and was protected by a few bodyguards as well. Regardless, she remembered that he was next in line to be the city of Haifon's senator- their system still works like a monarchy and that once his father died, he would be taking his place."

Sukai intervened. "City of Haifon?"

Suyin nodded. "Haifon's a port city located in the eastern Earth Nation. The Earth Nation is massive- It's so large that it's actually divided into three provinces, The Mind Province, Tham Tu, The Soul Province, Thaun Thei, and the Body Province, Linh Hon. And each of those provinces has about three major cities, who elect a Senator, although a few, like Haifon, still use the system in the likeness of a monarchy. Those three leaders are the Councils- Mind Council, Soul Council and Body Council. They are the second highest in positions of power- with the highest being, of course, the Earth Lord himself, who has the power to overrule any decision made."

Kiro raised an eyebrow inquisitively. "So they got all of the Earthbenders in Haifon to attack Sakuramura? Why's that? What's their motive?" Suyin sighed, and was about to speak when Sukai cut her off. "Who knows? Maybe they're just jerks?"

Suyin chuckled a bit. "Who knows is just it- And we're going to be "Who." That boat that popped up in the river's got our names on it- express trip to the city of Haifon. I haven't gotten out of this place in forever and even the old lady'd agree that it would do me some good to see the world again." Kiro and Sukai were both a bit dumbfounded. "You want us to go to Haifon? With you?" Suyin nodded.

"You guys grew up and lived in Sakuramura your whole lives, right? So logically you'd want to know why exactly it was destroyed. The Earth Nation isn't particularly known for being vicious and bloodthirsty. They attacked for a reason and that's what we would figure out." She paused for a minute. "You in?"

Sukai chimed in without much hesitation. "Yeah. Definitely." She felt a bit nervous seeing as she'd begun to think of the Teahouse as a second home, but lifef would have to go on and in her eyes, this was the best way for it to. Both girls turned to Kiro who scowled. "Sure, but only on one condition. We leave Hayate behind."

Hayate limped as he slowly stood up, Mizai smiling. "All better, right?" Hayate blushed and, while he hated being patronized, wasn't about to critisize someone that might have saved him from a potential fate of exsanguination. He thanked her and asked her how exactly she knew so much about medicine, to which she blushed herself on turn.

"When you get to be as old as me, you pick a couple of things up, especially when you're constantly in contact with people from all over the world." She laughed.

"Also, I went to a Waterbender's Academy in Sakuramura myself when I was a girl, and back then, girls could only learn healing techniques and it was the man's job to fight." She laughed and Hayate was surprised at this ancient concept of sexism. "Of course, no one really cared and we picked offensive bending up ourselves. In the end, the girls were better than the guys because we could heal too." She laughed, and Hayate couldn't help but smile.

After a minute of silence or two, Mizai spoke again. "And so… Mitsukai and Kiro- how do you know those two? Old friends of yours?" It was now Hayate's cue to chuckle.

"Nah. I met Sukai the same day the city was torn down, but apparently she was pretty famous so I probably heard her name before. As for Kiro… We weren't on the best of terms. Since we were kids our paths to school always crossed and he had fun tormenting me every time I was within sight." Mizai smiled and pat Hayate on the back.

"You've both been here for two weeks now- trust me, Hayate, I'm sure he doesn't hate you quite as much."

"I'm not going _anywhere _if that turd is coming."

Kiro's vicious statement left an astounded silence on the behalfs of Sukai and Suyin. Sukai was more shocked while Suyin seemed to be thoroughly disgusted, and when neither of them said anything for a good minute, Kiro took the initiative. "Do I need to re-iterate myself? Hayate is a useless turd. We don't need him weighing us down, nor do we need his retarded personality everywhere we turn."

Suyin calmly got up and walked towards the boy before crouching down and flicking him in between the eyes. He screamed melodramatically as her nails forged a cut that began leaking blood on his forehead, and Sukai cringed.

"If there's anyone we're not bringing along, it's going to be you, you heartless, selfish, overconfident _bastard. _Get a hold of yourself or else I'll have to beat more sense into you."

All of a sudden the sliding door to the weapons room pulled itself open and Hayate appeared at the entrance. Every head spun around to face the newcomer, who suddenly felt very awkward with six piercing eyes staring him down. "I… Heard a scream from outside and I just thought that I should maybe come and…" Suyin laughed, suddenly gaining back her usual composure.

"Don't sweat it, but hey, there's something I wanted to mention…"

She proceeded to explain the whole plan to him, and even before she finished he was nodding his head overenthusiastically. Kiro groaned, but Suyin gave him the evil eye and he was promptly shut up. "Tomorrow morning then, we'll leave right away!" With everyone's agreement, the four of them walked out of the weapons room and dispersed.

Suyin entered the main tearoom and immediately hoisted herself up on a table, then lay down on her back, her bangs convering her eyes as she yawned, putting her palms behind her head. Mizai sneered as she walked by the waitress, and joined Suyin by sitting down beside the sleeping warrior. "So you're going then, eh?" Mizai asked curiously. One of Suyin's eyes peeked out of the veil of black hiding her pupils. "You heard us?"

Mizai sneered. "Nah, but I could guess. I mean, how are you, of all people, supposed to resist an opportunity to navigate a ship again?" Suyin laughed. "You know me I guess, grandma. But still- Even I'm a bit curious, and these kids are growing on me. It might even be fun."

Mizai got off the table. "Don't take too long to come back though, mind you. What with all these customers, I don't think I can handle everything by myself!" Suyin laughed again, motioning to the empty teahouse.

She would miss it here.

Sukai sat lonely upon a stone in the hot springs. Aside from the teahouse, the steam-filled pools had become her home. This really was the only place for her to be alone, without the constantly prying eyes of Mizai, Suyin, Kiro and Hayate. Even when she was in her room- the walls were paper-thin and everyone could hear everything, so she didn't dare.

But now, where she was absolutely and utterly alone, she could let loose.

Shrouded by a thick, inpenetrable veil of steam, Mitsukai Sakurajin cried.

Although at first the tears were just a trickle stream, quickly they became a river that created a small puddle at her feet. She whimpered slowly and steadily, her breaths arrythmic and essentially random as she struggled to inhale, sadness overflowing from her two dark optics.

After about five minutes, she stood up and wiped her now-red eyes with the sleeve of her kimono which was slowly becoming worn. She once more thought of the disaster that struck her, her family, and her city, and broke down into tears again.

Her wails filled the air, that night.

Hayate was outisde of the teahouse as well, armed with his sharpened kusarigama, and began slashing at a tree that was now quite worn from so many days of being attacked mercilessly by the slicing blades. Hayate had made it his personal goal to try and topple it- probably wouldn't be something so far-fetched, considering that the trunk itself was considerably small in diameter and was already quite tattered.

He swung once, twice, three times, chipping away at the wood and sap sticking onto the cutting edge that he continued to wield without much finesse- regardless, he had definitely gotten better at it. When he stepped back, the moonlight allowed him to see the extent of the damage he'd caused. He was actually a bit imperssed himself- he had managed, over the course of the week, to make the tree mildly concave.

Pleased with himself and glad that his goal might actually be attainable, Hayate charged towards the tree again with the sickles outstretched and swung them viciously, his only goal being the destruction of the organism staring him in the eye.

He waved and waved, taking on different stances from the few that Suyin taught him, stabbed and sliced, but while the tree took so much punishment, it simply refused to tip over. Chunks of bark flew off and landed haphazardly, strewn at Hayate's feet but never did it show any sign of collapsing even slightly.

Frustrated, Hayate took a step back and assumed a pose that Suyin taught him most recently- the idea was to deal as much damage as possible by swiping the blade on the left to disarm and weaken the enemy's guard, then stab forwards with the right to impale the target and defeat them.

He put his weight on his back leg and, holding his left arm out with its respective sickle, took in a deep breath. Within two minutes he let loose a primal scream, swiped the left blade against the tattered wood, removing a massive chunk, and forced forward with all the strength he could muster and stabbed the immobile enemy with the edge of his crescent-shaped weapon.

The latter was now entirely stuck inside the tree, which, despite Hayate's efforts, hadn't moved an inch. Infuriated, Hayate removed the right sickle with a bit of trouble, and began slashing madly and randomly at his foe, only carving it further and creating chinks, by no means did it budge at all.

Yelling, he raised his right arm and forced it with all the pressure he could muster right into the side of the bark, but only recoiled from the pain that spread across his entire leg, then his body, from the shock. Cursing under his breath and abandoning the cause, he turned back and walked towards the teahouse.

When Hayate re-entered and the door closed, Kiro stepped out from behind the tree, sneering. He then proceded to think out loud:

"Useles, useless." He laughed. "That loser's nothing _but _a burden. Come to think of it, even if he does have to come, he'll just die within the first few hours. Probably will get seasick and jump over the edge or something." He laughed again at the thought and drew some water from a small puddle. In a second, he stomped on his right leg and waved his right hand with amazing speed, turning the whip of water that he created into a fatal weapon. It soared through the air and in a second, spilt the tree Hayate's futile efforts had scarred. Both halves of the tree fell slowly, and Kiro just kept on laughing to himself.

"Stupid kid." He repeated while walking over to enter the teahouse.


	11. The Open Ocean

.chapter eleven, the open ocean

Dawn came quickly, and soon the horizon was bathed in a picturesque vermillion that brought light into each compartment of the tea house. In that moment, each and every one of its current guests awoke slowly.

Sukai yawned and turned in her semi-consciousness as she was rudely woken up. It took her a good five minutes to muster the required willpower to rise and prepare herself for the day ahead of her- one that promised to be trying.

She threw on her robe, worn from the weeks that it had been the only thing on her back, while taking a look at herself in small, makeshift mirror fashioned out of ice. Satisfied with her appearance for the moment, she slid the door of her alveolus sideways and walked out into the hall, then into the tearoom. She noticed for a split second that the incense, perpetually burning, seemed to have taken on a new, pleasant aroma.

As she entered the aforementioned tearoom she was somewhat surprised to notice that Mizai wasn't knitting as she usually did, and that Suyin was no where to be found either. By now knowing where everything was, she walked over to the small counter that they considered their kitchen and prepared a small meal that would hold her over for a few hours, at least.

Meanwhile, Hayate also shook himself awake. He was a bit less reluctant to move, perhaps even excited, since he'd developed a mild bout of cabin fever during their stay and a trip, no matter how far they would be going, was going to be a welcome change of pace.

He joined Sukai who was now sitting down and scraping the remnants of her repast off of her plate, and sat down himself, looking around quizzically.

"Where're Suyin and Mizai?"

"Dunno. I was wondering the same thing."

Hayate shrugged and was now faced with the unpleasant reality that he would have to prepare his own meal, Suyin being missing in action. Sighing, he got up and tried to prepare an omelette on the small stove that the kitchen had to offer. He was never very good at cooking at more than once had he accidentally started a kitchen fire, but that was a long time ago and he assumed that time, if not experience, would have honed his skills.

Kiro's ear was pressed against the door to the tearoom as he attempted to piece together parts of the conversation between Sukai and Hayate. They were surprisingly quiet, for two usually annoying nonstop talking machines. He, not hungry, elected to enter the hot springs instead and quickly revise all of the techniques he'd learned and, for an important part, perfected during his stay here.

Welcomed with a burst of steam to the face, he quickly ran over to the water and drew some up at eye level, which he quickly compressed into a small sphere. He focused hard and felt his hand getting colder with the sphere still in front of him moving less and less- then, a faint cracking noise could be heard as fragments of ice materialized inside the sphere of water. Eventually, the sphere was only an outer membrane of water filled with several shards of ice, which he quickly filled up and froze as well, creating a perfectly spherical, frozen ball.

He sighed and let it drop, wiping a bit of sweat off of his brow. Definitely far from perfect, but thermokinesis was an incredibly difficult progress, and solidification the toughest of all. In a moment, the ball reverted back to its liquid state and before long, it vanished in an explosion of gas.

He'd also mastered the double helix technique, which he tried a few times for good measure, even without any opponent there. He'd even added his own spin, which consisted of making some of the bars the connected the edges of the helixes solid, to better capture and ensnare an opponent.

And of course a few others as well. One being a water ball, which consisted of creating a handheld sphere of water and propelling it with steam through the air, another, rain in a confined space, which caused droplets of water to fall from a large sphere of liquid looming over the area.

Satisfied with his overall progress, Kiro turned around and re-entered the teahouse, then made his way towards the tea room itself, where he assumed Sukai and Hayate were still being as quiet as ever.

As he slid the door aside he couldn't help but widen his eyes out of surprise and confusion- all that remained of the kitchen was a smouldering pile of ashes, a frustrated-looking Sukai and Hayate crouching in what seemed to be the fetal position not much farther away.

He sighed and walked in, closing the door behind him. He took a seat at a table as though nothing had happened.

"Sukai," he began, "would you give me a menu?"

Sukai's left eye twitched ever so slightly, and she approached Kiro, delivering a painful slap to the back of his head. He tried not to show his pain, and Sukai walked over to enter her own room, passing by the still-traumatized Hayate.

He still couldn't believe they were being forced to take him along- of all the characters. Hayate was thoroughly useless in every aspect of his being. He would prove to only be a hindrance, a nuisance, and the list could and would have continued if the door hadn't spontaneously bust open at that instant.

Mizai charged in, yawning serenely. She wondered just what, exactly, had happened to her kitchen, but didn't make her concern visible. Putting two and two together, she sighed.

"I won't kill you, Hayate, get out of there."

Hayate, relieved, stood up only to be met by a frying pan to the forehead. Mizai spat. "That's my kitchen's vengeance. Hopefully it didn't kill you- I'd hate to break my word." Dazed, Hayate spun around a few times before latching on to a wall and walking back towards his room.

Kiro laughed out loud at the occurrence, and Mizai promptly shushed him with her same cast-iron brand of tough love.

"Crap!" He screamed, getting up and rubbing his aching skull.

"It's what you deserve." Pouted the old woman. "Now , Suyin wanted me to tell you and the others that you should meet outside and be ready to go in an hour sharp. Relay the message for me, alright?"

Not wanting to go against the word of a tyrant with kitchen utensils, Kiro made his way to both rooms to deliver the news while wondering what they would do with their last hour here.

---

The time passed quickly, and in an hour they all made their way out in single file, leaving the teahouse, trailed by Mizai They all smiled with satisfaction at the ship that stood before them, towering royally in the small river in the teahouse's yard. Suyin had made a few minor repairs to mend the damage that they themselves had caused, but otherwise it seemed unchanged, aside from the lack of an Earth Nation flag that was also probably well on its way to an Air Temple.

Suyin herself had been standing on the ship's deck, looking down at the three kids with the largest smile on her face.

"Well, are you coming?"

It took less than a minute to get all of the overeager and anxious youngsters on board, who seemed to be forgetting that this would be a drastic change in their now semi-normal lifestyle. Not wanting to slay their enthusiasm, however, Suyin and Mizai both elected to remain quiet on the subject.

Mizai waved them goodbye and winked at Suyin. Eventually, the anchor was raised and they were well on their way to Haifon, port city of the Earth Nation.

---

Throughout most of the journey, Hayate sat near the bow of the boat with its navigator and captain, Suyin, exchanging stories. At this particular moment, they were discussing wind and what caused it, considering that they were feeling countless gusts at the moment.

"Atmospheric pressure." Said Suyin. "That's basically what wind is- air that moves."

"It must be cool to be an airbender." Hayate concluded, holding out an open palm.

"It would be, but like other types of bending, most of that's determined before you're born, in your genes." She laughed. "It's not like someone like us, from this end of the world, could ever decide to just become an Airbender." Hayate seemed to be more focused on his palm, where a small bit of air seemed to be concentrated in a ball. A second later, though, it was gone, and he just blamed the whole thing on his imagination.

Meanwhile, Sukai and Kiro were practicing certain moves at the stern of the ship, particularly the manipulation of moving water, which they attempted with the liquid that was pushed aside with every foot the ship ploughed ahead.

"Tougher, isn't it?" Sukai snarkily inquired when Kiro seemed to be having particular difficulty with the exercise.

"Shut up." He spat back, focusing again on the matter at hand.

Eventually, night fell, and stars were drawn in the sky, which was now painted ebony.

"Suyin," Hayate began, "Are you going to captain through the night? Isn't that a little bit, well, dangerous?"

Suyin shrugged."I'll be fine. Just go inside and get some rest."

Hayate obediently complied and made his way inside the ship what were probably, not too long ago, sailor's quarters. The large hallway was shrouded in darkness and difficult to see in, perhaps impossible, were it not for the sparse few lamps dimly lit and glowing along the walls. The hall was equally lined with about ten of the aforementioned quarters on either side, and they were quite voluminous, leaving no space unoccupied. Additionally, the wooden walls separated each one and decrepit doors marked each entrance.

Hayate strolled over to one of the doors at random and tried to pry it open, but to no avail- it was locked from the inside. He tried again, but a sharp, sudden voice interrupted his attempt.

"It's _occupied__._" Hayate cringed at the sound of the snarky Kiro, however, not intentionally searching for a brawl, he continued down the perpetual path of ebony until he eventually reached a cell on the far left-hand side. He pulled it open, stepped in, and then shut it gingerly as though he was afraid that it would fall off of its hinges.

The room, for what it was, was moderately furnished with two oil lamps hanging from the ceiling and three cots along different walls. He assumed that it was probably made to accommodate several of the seamen. A few things also seemed to not be part of the ship's traditional decor, probably the previous guests' possessions- a chess board with strange, token-like circular figures on it, and several scrolls, one of which was open. An ink bottle along with its quill had fallen over and leaked all over the floor. Not tired, Hayate unhinged one of the lamps and used it to try and decipher the scroll's contents.

He was puzzled to notice that it was written in a completely foreign language – he could only make out bits and pieces of it and they made no sense whatsoever once taken out of context. Discouraged, he snuffed out the flame and lay down to sleep.

Later in the eve, Sukai felt the boat rock in her sleep, and with a particularly powerful bout of turbulence, she was awakened. To her dismay, her kimono was still wet with the tears she'd poured earlier in the night- but that was the least of her concerns. Feeling the craft shudder again, she took a few weary steps forward to eventually reach the exit door.

Outside, she saw that Hayate's door was barely wedged open and that he was already about to exit the hallway and head up to the deck. She hissed his name.

"_Hayate!__"_"

The boy turned around and motioned for Sukai to come forward. The latter began speaking again, while noticing that Hayate was wearing his Kusarigama.

"What's going on?" The Petalbender asked.

"Not sure_._" Came Hayate's reply. "I just heard a loud noise, then the boat shook_. _But I'd rather not take my chances." He tapped the two sickles at his waist, and Sukai nodded. "Right. But what about Kiro?"

"He's a heavy sleeper if there ever was one_. _It'll take nothing short of a hurricane to get him out of bed."

As the boat shook again, they were both silenced voluntarily and continued up towards the deck, their hearts pounding powerfully in their chests. Hayate threw the door open and was immediately pushed back by a powerful torrent of wind as their craft quickly turned around perfectly perpendicularly, and was shot backwards as an acrobat, landing less than elegantly at Sukai's feet, who couldn't help but stifle a chuckle.

"Don't quit your day job-" She began, but was rudely interrupted as Hayate righted himself, ignoring the bruises and scrapes. He jumped and the sound of his feet smashing into the wood beneath them sent vibrations up Sukai's legs, and she saw a certain determination in his eyes.

"Someone's feeling intense." She sneered. "Put a sock in it, Sukai. I can open a door."

This time, when he pulled the slab of wood open, he walked out onto the deck and was followed by the young girl. None of them knew what to expect, but certainly didn't anticipate what was staring them straight in the eyes.

A plethora of lights, not three hundred yards away, was quickly approaching. The lights seemed to belong to another naval craft, but they couldn't tell if it was hostile from this range, in the dark. They stood there, speechless and in awe, for a moment, but seconds later they heard a displeased groaning and turned their heads to see Suyin at the navigating wheel. Deep bags formed beneath her eyes, and her palms were bleeding from having turned the wheel so briskly and so frequently. Hayate cringed at the sight and Sukai only bit her lip mildly. They looked at each other and, nodding, ran over to Suyin.

The latter seemed surprised. "What on Earth are you doing here? Go back to bed!"

Sukai tore Suyin's hands off of the wheel. "You're killing yourself!"

"I can handle this, it's no big-" Hayate cut her off, grabbing her right hand. "You have _splinters _in your open wounds! How can you be _standing?"_

Suyin sneered. "It's called determination. Now, if you don't mind," She raised her right leg and side-kicked Hayate in the plexus, sending him flying to the other end of the ship. He grunted and groaned when he landed, and Suyin quickly pivoted, aiming a fist at the bottom of Sukai's chest.

The girl managed to parry the blow, but ever barely. She then raised her own left leg and kicked Suyin in the thigh, but was surprised when the only pain that occurred was on her end- Suyin's legs were like steel and Sukai recoiled in pain, whining.

Suyin took advantage of the situation and punched Sukai in the shoulder, blasting the girl into the ground. She whined and Suyin seemed a bit dismayed, but turned around and resumed her navigational work. The woman looked up and her heart skipped a bit with the imminent terror- the ship was closing in on them and she'd lost precious time; she could now see many of the details on the boat.

It was massive- three huge red sails each embroidered with golden flames. A Fire Navy vessel, whose sailors, unfortunately, were probably not going to take kindly to the discovery of a hijacked Earth Nation craft which was destined to the Fire Nation in the first place. She cursed and spun the wheel around violently to change the ship's course, and attempt to distract the approaching foes.

She was taken by surprise, of course, when Hayate leapt up and fell down on her with his Kusarigama outstretched, the scythes aiming for her shoulders. Recognizing the technique she taught him, Suyin leapt backwards and Hayate landed harmlessly. He did, however, proceed to immediately swing both of his scythes. Now, though, he disconnected the chain from the right one and whipped it at the captain, who was somewhat taken aback. She reached for a sheathed weapon at her hip, and in a flash of lighting withdrew and wielded a sword made entirely out of wood that defended her against the incoming metal menace.

Afterwards, Hayate pierced forwards with the weapon in his right arm and aimed for the clavicle. Suyin sneered and lowered her sword, using it to block the attack perfectly. They stood in perfect silence for a moment, then Suyin shattered the unspoken oath.

"When did you learn to do that?"

"I've had some spare time." Hayate grinned childishly, trying to force forward with his right scythe, wanting to cut through the wooden sword, but to no avail.

"Don't waste your time. My sword, Guofan, can't be destroyed that easily."

Hayate spat. "Why are you attacking us?"

"Because I don't want you two in my way right now!" Suyin shrieked. The shrill tone of her voice startled Hayate, who loosened up his grip. Taking advantage of the situation, Suyin pulled down Guofan in the chains, dragging Hayate to the ground, then pulled the weapon out of the snake's grip. With a well-placed blow to the temple, Hayate was knocked unconscious and fell to the ground. Suyin quickly returned her dull blade to its abode and clutched the wheel again, spinning it once more to throw their pursuers off their trail, even though they were now so close it would take nothing short of a miracle to not be boarded and stopped.

Suddenly, a small light in Suyin's left pocket went off. Her eyes widened and she reached in, completely forgetting the task at hand. She pulled out a pendant with a glass sphere attached to the bottom, in which a small flame was burning ever barely. A second later, the kindle was gone.

Cursing, Suyin turned the ship around to face the enemies. On-board the other ship, a middle-aged man seemed surprised, and a younger crew member ran up to him.

"Captain Lai! They're facing us, but no one's detected any firearms or weapons on board. On another note, it's been successfully identified as the Zhanxian, although we can't see Captain Biao or Commander Guai onboard. In fact, we can't identify the person piloting the vessel. She seems to be a woman, but no one can place a name to the face."

The captain emitted a low hum, smiling. "Then wait. Position Firebenders on the rail, ready to strike at a moment's notice. I don't think wasting any ammunition will be necessary, so feel free to tell the sharpshooters and cannoneers that they can take the evening off. This really shouldn't take long at all."

The man nodded enthusiastically and ran off.

Back on Suyin's craft, apparently baptised the Zhanxian, the pendant that the woman now wore around her neck was the home of a larger flame. While it was still quite small, it was more than the miniscule spark that appeared previously. She continued straight towards the other boat, charging straight at it.

In a quick move, the Zhanxian manoeuvred stealthily around the enemy ship, barely avoiding it. As both ships eventually became parallel, Suyin managed to see the captain of the other vessel and made eye contact for a very brief second. She cringed.

Captain Lai sneered and shouted.

"It's her. Let's go- all Firebenders to strategically damage the ship without sinking it or injuring the captain. The others' lives can be thrown away, no one minds. But whatever you do, don't kill the girl."

He laughed heartily. "We're taking her alive."


	12. The Battle Aboard the Zhanxian

.chapter twelve, the battle aboard the Zhanxian

Suyin barely budged as the vivid onslaught of crimson flares danced through the air, only to slam with stunning ferocity into the side of the vessel, sending it reeling in another direction. Scarlet tips licked Suyin's feet and clothing as the entire deck of the ship went up in spontaneous flame. She swore and turned around, giving the wheel a violent tug to put it back on track.

Through the heat-induced blur in the air, she was barely able to fathom with her eyes the seven or eight Firebenders on the opposite ship. She slowly made her way over to Zhanxian's rail, and withdrew Guofan as a security measure. The foes were staring her down furiously, and she heard a voice command them from farther down. Squinting, her heart clenched itself and skipped a beat as her worst nightmares were confirmed at the sight of the ship's captain and his right-hand man.

_Lai…_

She was brought back to her senses by a tremendous crash that shook the boat beneath her feet. A plank just wide enough for one person to walk across, but long enough for at least ten, had collapsed on the Zhanxian, the other end connected to the foes' boat. One at a time the Firebenders took wary steps onto the long slab of wood, and she didn't seem to be paying much attention to the fact that many other men, rolling out massive cannons, were also appearing now.

She made her way to the edge of the plank connecting the two seaworthy crafts and extended her wooden blade to the stomach level of the incoming assailants, all lined up in single file on the wood, although the closest person remained a good two feet away from the warrior.

"I'm warning you." She reached down into a holster on her hip, removing two shuriken interlaced between her digits, and held them to her side as well. "Turn back or you'll wish you never took a step off of dry land."

The Firebenders, in classic villain manner, obviously elected to continue their course, regardless of the danger they were in. When one of them took a step forwards and raised a fist in an offensive motion, eventually to summon flame, Suyin whipped her left hand like a bullet through the air and the projectiles dug themselves into his shoulder blades, causing him to drop his arms, numb, and scream, wobbling from side to side.

Just as he was about to fall off and into the gelid abyss that was the nighttime ocean, Suyin thrust a palm forward, sending him flying high above the rest of his cohorts and back onto his own vessel. The stunned others behind him had no time to react, and the woman made quick work of them too, sending them back to whence they came as well.

Returning to the Zhanxian, though, she was dismayed to see the fires spreading like, frankly, wildfire. The ship was soon to be entirely incinerated if nothing was done, but how to put it out?

Almost immediately though, she was cut off by the hissing sound of fire fading away into nothing upon contact with water- Sukai, worn from her previous engagement, was now standing and summoning water from the endless basin beneath them, using it to extinguish all the fire in sight.

Suyin sneered and relished the small victory, the glass sphere in her possession now growing a larger flame than before. This just might work out.

"Don't think I forgot that you tried to kill me." Mumbled Sukai as she dropped yet another load of liquid upon the fires behind Suyin. "This is what, the second time so far? I'm starting to lose my trust in-" Spontaneously, a shadow stretched behind the girl and Suyin tuned out, fixing herself on the growing silhouette of darkness that was in Sukai's likeness, but much longer than it should have been.

In a split second the shadow's shape changed from that of Sukai's to that of a man she barely recognized, then it materialized into a physical form, sprouting out of the ground with a blade in hand, falling down on Sukai from behind.

Suyin swore ran as quickly as she could, barely parrying the blow that would have ended Sukai's life. The girl cursed under her own breath as Suyin managed to see her foe clearly now in the light of the flame. She spoke first.

"It's been a while, Daoming. Looks like you've climbed the ladder, huh? Now _you're _Lai's bit-"

"I don't have any intention of fraternizing with you."

He vanished yet again, the weapon in his clutch falling to the ground with a haunting sound. "Sukai, watch out! He hides in your shadow and attacks from behind!"

"Regardless of what you might think," added Sukai, turning around quickly, "I'm just not THAT stupid." She drew water and formed, almost reflexively, a hovering ring of aqua around her body. Suyin looked down at her own shadow and saw nothing, then at Sukai's- where was Daoming hiding?

"Suyin, look!"

Sukai pointed at Hayate's unconscious, limp body sprawled on the corner of the deck. Suyin had almost entirely forgotten about him, and certainly wasn't paying attention to his growing shadow. When Daoming materialized behind the boy, Suyin was already on her way with her blade, Guofan, in hand.

"Ah, ah, ah." A chilling voice caused her to stop moving, despite the circumstances. "It seems we're still as hasty as we've ever been, aren't we, Suyin?" She shuddered in terror, then continued forward, realizing that Daoming was approaching Hayate now even more.

"I didn't recall ever having given you permission to move."

Tendrils of dark blue fire rose from the ship's deck and Suyin cursed, jumping high to avoid the grappling tentacles. In an instant, the feelers froze in place as ice sculptures, sharpened at every point but ever deadly.

"Your reflexes are still as good though, I must give you that…"

Another tendril shot up from the centre of the ones already created, and grabbed her by the ankle, dragging her down. At that point, it froze stiff and Suyin found that she couldn't move at all. She slammed Guofan into the cold once or twice, but it made absolutely no difference.

The tapping of footsteps behind her caused her to let out a grunt of frustration. She turned her head and saw the morbid visage of Lai Caizai- one she'd seen too many times before. He was strong of stature, standing up firm with a regal dahlia vest over otherwise normal Fire Navy attire. His eyes were thin and he squinted often, his malevolent hair tied up in a tight ponytail that trailed behind him. His mouth was bent in a cruel sneer.

"What to do with you…" He wondered aloud, reaching for a long sword at his waist. Suyin cringed as she heard the sound of metal on metal as he began to withdraw the sabre.

"Suyin! Hayate!" Sukai screamed, pointing at Daoming, who was about to slit Hayate's throat open. Suyin spat and pointed her finger at Daoming, farther away, releasing a thin stream of flame from the tip of her index, scorching Daoming's shoulder and making him drop his blade again, his entire outfit beginning to go up in fire. After a shout, the assailant vanished in a shadowy abyss once again.

Suyin was now more out of breath than Sukai'd ever seen her be. Yet, she was still amazed that Suyin had firebending abilities, however limited those seemed to be. The woman coughed and summoned fire again, severing the binds of ice that held her down. Lai seemed astounded as well, and didn't bother to recreate the binds.

Suyin inhaled then exhaled at a frantic pace. Lai laughed. "Looks like you're a Firebender after all. Makes the last, what, ten years, seem pretty pointless, no?" He extended an arm, and Daoming appeared behind the captain, kneeling.

"I apologize for my failure."

"Apology accepted, reluctantly. Don't let it occur again- ready the cannoneers."

Just as quickly, Daoming vanished again.

"Well, Suyin, shall we dance?" Suyin bit her lip, remembering all too well what Lai meant whenever he mentioned dancing. "You look as though you remember my signature!" Lai sneered. "It's almost an honour, and probably would be if I didn't loathe you quite so much." He picked up his weapon with his other arm and held it level with his outstretched palm. "Let us dance the blades."

He blasted forwards another onslaught of ice-fire, while flying forwards with his weapon extended. Suyin muttered a swear and dove to the side, narrowly avoiding the surreal flame, which created a divide between her and her opponent once it solidified. Behind it, she saw the distorted shape of Lai charging straight towards the ice, and she knew to be on her guard.

In a moment, the ice shattered in an earsplitting cacophony, and Lai pierced through, his sword aimed at Suyin's stomach.

Suyin parried, forcing his blade above with Guofan, then tried to kick Lai in the stomach. The man sidestepped and easily avoided the blow, bringing his own blade down at a forty five degree angle to her shoulder. She also managed to step out of the way, and this time swung Guofan to her right and sliced with a knifehand to the left.

Lai sighed and two walls of flame were erected around him. Suyin stopped Guofan right away, but let her hand continue flying until it cut through the fire at such a speed that the burn was practically unnoticeable. She managed to make contact with the side of Lai's neck and the man coughed up a clear liquid, falling to his knees.

Suyin sneered and used the opportunity to ram her knee into his side, sending him careening across the ship, but he slowly rose after hitting the railing. "You certainly haven't gotten any weaker, though, haven't you?" Suyin swore.

"It's funny how you still don't like to make Guofan touch fire, even though we all know that all that's going to happen is-"

"Fire!"

A cannon on the enemy ship blasted its ammunition with a deafening explosion. However, before it could even reach the Zhanxian, it froze solid in a sphere of water that Sukai contained it in, falling like a weight into the aquatic zephyr beneath. She looked back and chuckled. "I'll take care of this here- I don't forgive you, but I don't want us all dead either."

Suyin nodded and drew her wooden sword, walking up to the weakened Lai. "The mighty sure've fallen, right, teacher?"

Lai lashed out surprisingly, whipping his left arm through the air and blasting blue fire all around Suyin, completely encompassing her. She cursed and backed out just in time to not be entombed by the solidifying flame. Lai pushed himself up and ran towards Suyin, who just barely managed to block.

"You didn't think your superior would fall to you so easily, right?" Suyin kept pushing on her sword, blocking his. Lai laughed and, noticing her so focused, knew that she wouldn't be able to stop an easy attack. With an open knifehand, he thrust his limb straight into Suyin's clavicle, filling the air with a shattering noise as she dropped Guofan to clutch her injury. Her left arm was in such pain- she wouldn't be able to use it for a while to come.

He then kicked, hitting Suyin in the hip with the top of his foot. She was sent spinning in the air once or twice, and Sukai cried out her name from the edge of the ship. Regardless of her current feelings towards Suyin, she didn't want to see her impaled in such a grotesque manner. Sukai stopped attacking the cannonballs trying to blast holes in the ship and drew a mass of water that she blasted recklessly at Lai, who didn't see the attack coming and was hit hard. He was pushed to the rail, but managed, before falling off, to unlatch a grappling hook at his waist and use it to attach to his vessel and climb back onto it.

Suyin looked up and Sukai, who was gazing down at her a dozen yards away, looking distressed and worried. The swordsman's sight had been a bit blurry earlier, but was clearing up, and just as the world shifted back into focus she saw Daoming lighting a cannon fuse on the enemy's ship…

She tried to yell Sukai's name to warn her, but no noise came out- or at least, that's what it seemed like. The world seemed to go deaf as she just saw Sukai look at her inquisitively. She shouted again but couldn't hear herself- why was the world devoid of sound?

In that second, she saw a different scenario. The world around her was different; she was lying down on sand, grains filling her shoes and shirt as her arm, almost completely cut open, lay bleeding beside her. Noise was nonexistent now, too, and she saw a boy farther away looking at her, scared. He began running towards her, a green fire brewing in his cupped left palm. Then, shifting her focus, she saw a man with a bow farther away string an arrow. She screamed his name, but he didn't listen. She screamed again, and he just kept running. She tried to scream a third time, but the arrow had been released and its damage, done.

Reality returned, and she noticed the cannon's fuse getting shorter by the second. She shrieked, but like in the previous scenario, Sukai only continued towards the injured woman.

Suyin knew that she couldn't stand by, and tried to force herself up, but she was too injured- regardless of how she moved, she felt the pain in her upper chest. She screamed again, but this time her shout was drowned out by the terrifying sound of cannon fire.

She howled again as the deadly sphere left its home and blasted through the air, a path of smoke trailing behind it. Its aim was true and its accuracy, deadly- Sukai's head was only about the same size as the projectile, in any case…

Fortunately, it never quite reached its mark.

A wall of water rose and captured the weapon, halting it in its tracks, and it slowly sunk in the liquid. Suyin heaved a sigh of relief as a boy's silhouette began to grow, fuelled by the raging fires. Sukai turned around, surprised, having not even realized that she was the target of a cannon's blast.

"You didn't actually think I'd sleep through _cannon fire, _did you?" Kiro stood triumphantly with his arms outstretched, and water spinning viciously around his wrists and palms. Thrusting his limbs forward, Suyin and Sukai watched as he enclosed the weapon in a dome of water, then dragged it off the ship, shattering the rails of wood, and only hearing the faint crash as it landed in the depths of the sea, metres below.

Hayate slowly got up, groaning and clutching his head, watching the spectacle in front of him unfold. Kiro was destroying all of the cannons on the enemy ship, aided in every respect by Sukai, until there were none left. They both turned to Suyin, and Sukai tried to help her up, but she refused and, wincing, managed to pull herself upright.

"We have to get out of here now!" Sukai spoke in a menacing tone. Kiro sighed. "Your intelligence is superior only to your looks, and a genius you most definitely are not." He continued: "Of course we have to get out of here, but Suyin's arm seems pretty shot and she's the only one that can move this thing."

It was at this point that Hayate had crawled up and walked over to the group. Sukai was about to welcome him back to consciousness, but he cut her off. "You know, I'm not so sure about that. I might have another idea." Kiro looked unconvinced. "I'll believe it when I see it."

Minutes later, Kiro and Sukai were waving their arms frantically, moving the water beneath the vessel at amazing speeds, forcing the seaworthy craft forwards. The other ship, still distressed, didn't budge and distance was quickly being created. Between strokes, Sukai whispered just loudly enough for Kiro to hear her.

"Looks like Hayate actually had a good idea for once, hm?"

"What was that? I'm afraid I don't speak idiot."

Farther down the deck, Suyin held out the pendant glowing red with the shimmering flame inside that didn't stop growing. _At this rate, _she thought, _he's at the bottom of the sea somewhere. _

"Turn her right a bit, guys!" She shouted to the two new navigators.

Hayate walked near her now, approaching and kneeling down, staring intently at the orb that nestled the spark. "Hey, Suyin, what is that?" She quickly tossed it back in her pocket. "Just a good luck charm!" She responded, a sweatdrop created upon her brow. Hayate didn't seem convinced, but shrugged it off and sat down beside her.

They sailed on through the night.


	13. The Peculiar Island

.chapter thirteen, the peculiar island

It wasn't long afterwards that the ocean-bound became seasick- and while not in the nauseous form, more of the "sick and tired of this freaking ocean" variety, as Sukai had so elegantly put it once dawn broke and land was still absolutely nowhere in sight. The girl had been alternating duty of moving the vessel with Kiro, about an hour at a time.

Hayate had slept in the crow's nest, and when awake spent his time scouring the endless seascape for the faintest hint of land, however desolate, remote or minute it may be. They didn't doubt Suyin's judgement and agreed to stay on course, but they were honestly beginning to question whether or not she really knew where she was going or if pride had overcome her and she refused to admit her error.

"I say," began Kiro as he took Sukai's shift, "we have a small coup-d'état. Tie her up and throw her in the basement, then go back the way we came and get to the teahouse, eat, leave Suyin there and go." Sukai sighed. While normally she would have spent all hours arguing with him and pointing out why his plan was both flawed and mildly psychotic, she was far too tired to begin formulating a rebuttal and, besides, she sort of agreed with him just this once.

As for Suyin, she'd been leaning against the ship's rail for an excruciatingly long time, and held her left palm to her clavicle where, if anyone had been looking, they'd see a blossoming emerald flame caressing her injury. Eventually, the fire vanished and she moved her remedied bone- the treatment had been as effective as she'd hoped, for she'd regained all mobility.

Around her neck, the glass pendant that cradled a now impressive flame shone like a beacon throughout most of the night. During the day, the light it emitted was considerably less impressive, but still nothing to scoff at. Whenever anyone tried to ask her any questions concerning it, though, she was sure to promptly change the subject.

Having been healed, she stood up and walked over to the navigating wheel, taking care of where she stepped. Most of the boards on the craft had been almost irreparably damaged due to the ravaging fires that threatened to destroy the Zhanxian altogether. The wheel was virtually unharmed, though, and she was pleased when it turned just as well as it had before their impromptu encounter with Lai and his crew.

She turned to the two Waterbenders and shouted. "'ts alright, guys, I'll take it from here."

Both of them collapsed, yawning deeply. Suyin nervously continued the Zhanxian on its course, piloting it through the mildly choppy seas for hours, until the landscape finally changed.

It was an abrupt, impromptu swap. A clear sky with nothing in sight for one instant, and the next, a bustling port surrounded by blossoming, vivacious greenery that curled around solid crimson bricks. Those bricks were the foundation for a hundred homes, and the sun even seemed to be shining brighter here. The sudden change in scenery brought everyone to their feet, the group looking more than nervous.

"Where are we?" Hayate inquired, slowly snaking his fingers down to his weapons, should the need to use them arise.

Suyin shuddered, looking ready to attack herself. Thus far, they hadn't seen any people here- what were they to make of this?

Sukai looked backwards anxiously, then squealed, pointing to whence they came. "Guys…"

Their arrival point was also a solid wall- while they didn't know how it had happened; they were now undoubtedly caged in, lest they should attempt to demolish the barrier by force. Kiro proposed the idea, but Suyin shook her head. "This place is far too interesting to just leave alone, isn't it?" Of course, while her curious soul was one aspect of her opinion, the inferno continuing to increase in mass in her pocket didn't sway her decision any.

"Halt!"

It was all of a sudden that Suyin let the wheel go, stopping the Zhanxian entirely. The voice continued to echo, and no one was quite sure exactly where it came from until they saw a group of about ten people standing firm on a shore a few metres above them, but considerably farther away. One of them closed his eyes and held out his hands, as though he was preparing to bend something. Kiro recognized his potential offensive movement and elected to not wait another minute.

"Bastard!" he yelled, impulsively running to the edge of the vessel and drawing a snake of water, then spat it forwards. It shot through the air, only to miss entirely as every member of the mysterious ten sidestepped it with astounding ease.

The bending man suddenly brought his whole body down, and a loud metallic sound resonated in the air surrounding them. They looked up and braced themselves for impact- four massive chains, each of the chain's segment about as large and tall as Suyin, were descending from the sky. They crashed through different parts of the Zhanxian, creating massive holes and chaining the craft to the bottom of the sea. As for the other tips of the chains, they seemed to be endless, climbing to infinity from above.

"State your purpose, and why have you arrived on Kumadori Shima?" He seemed to be menacing them. Kiro, who was normally so calm and composed, was evidently a much different person when put under pressure, or in what could possibly be a life-or-death situation. He shouted again.

"We were just sailing! It's open ocean for miles, and then your stupid place comes out of nowhere and all of a sudden we're _intruding? _Come down from your _mighty pedestal _and I'll show you what I really think."

"You're incredibly talkative." The same man as before snapped his fingers, and five tendrils of water rose from the sea beneath them, looming dangerously their craft. Kiro scoffed. "It'll take more than that to stop us!" He held a palm forward and clenched a fist- when nothing happened, he tried again, then again. "What the… Thermokinesis doesn't work?" He tried again when the ten enigmatic figures burst out into spontaneous laughter.

"Our water is most peculiar, you'd find, as are most things on Kumadori." He began to move the water closer, so that edges of it leaned over the rails of the Zhanxian. Everyone onboard looked incredibly nervous, particularly Kiro, who had just been made a fool of, and, for once, didn't consider responding.

"Thank you for cooperating. It seems as though it's a most unfortunate incident that has led you to our society, and it would be most appreciated if you left. Therefore, if you would simply turn your vessel around…" He waved his arms and they chains vanished back into the sky, climbing up, and the boards it destroyed were replaced almost magically. Suyin slowly began to comply, when Sukai bent over and hissed in Kiro's ear.

"What are they doing?"

The boy had now had time to calm down, and seemed to be assessing the situation calmly, as he normally did. "I'm trying to think, I'm trying to think…"

The Zhanxian was now well on its way to the brick wall that marked the exit, when all ten of the figures chanted and moved, shifting the bricks aside, casting them into the lake beneath. Suyin found it most interesting that they landed with very little, if not any, sound into the water. The passage was now clear, and they were free to leave this strange place.

"Do know that on your next arrival, you will not be treated so kindly."

Suyin sighed, ignoring the comment, and continued piloting the ship on its way out, when, just as they were about to leave, Kiro snickered.

"Powerful words, for one so weak."

He moved the water beneath the ship in a valiant crash, turning the entire vessel around to once again face their interesting assailants, who seemed more than distressed. He drew water and instructed Sukai to do the same, and Hayate jumped on the bandwagon by clutching his Kusarigama. Suyin continued to play pacifist, standing and watching.

"I can assume," Kiro began, catching his breath, "that you are terrible at observing things. I got it when you fixed the boards- the chains crashed through ashen, weak and burnt wood from the previous fire. When you repaired them, it was cleverly the same colour as most of the intact wood- but even that wood's been worn from weather: this is no new boat, and new wood would have a striking contrast.

Your water didn't help your cause- it didn't drip over onto our boat as realistic water does, and I couldn't transmute it at all. The bricks, also, fell strangely into the water, almost vanishing ethereally as opposed to collapsing in a heavy manner with a splash.

Finally, despite the prowess you demonstrated, you _avoided _my attack instead of neutralizing it or summoning a wall to stop it. From there, we can deduce that you actually have no physical powers and this whole time you've been messing with our brains."

The water surrounding him suddenly turned into ten razor-sharp, foot-long icicles that levitated ominously.

"I'd say you're no longer in any position to be giving us orders."

The strange figures onshore quivered in fear, but almost as spontaneously vanished absolutely into thin air, as though they'd never been present in the first place. The four onboard the Zhanxian quickly grouped together, Suyin having now drawn Guofan, ready to strike at a moment's notice.

It was then that the water turned scarlet as blood and rain began pouring down violently on the island rather than on the boat. The basin beneath them twisted and turned, gyrating their ship in a myriad of ways as Sukai and Kiro tried to stabilize it.

Suddenly, a titanic, azure, snake-like dragon, with long, xanthous whiskers that stretched down its body from its mouth appeared from below, towering above their craft. Its eyes shone a stunning ruby as it opened its mouth and released a chilling blast of air that set frost on parts of the Zhanxian, and more importantly, on the few humans upon it.

Smoke was released from its massive nostrils and a human shape was now more than evident upon its skull. It was that figure that produced a menacing command:

"This is your last warning. While we've created illusions previously, I can promise you that the terror you are about to witness, should you not elect to depart, will be very, very real." Kiro and Hayate clenched their fists, and Sukai screamed back. "I think you should just let us stay!"

The dragon roared and began to descend without warning unto the Zhanxian. It sliced through the air, ready to destroy the craft and all of its children, creating a shadow on-deck. Hayate threw a guard up in front of his face reflexively, although the force of impact would require a titanium shield rather than two chicken-bone arms. Kiro and Sukai drew water from beneath them and tried to shoot it in whips at the incoming beast, but the creature also aptly moved out of the way, snaking in between the projectiles.

Instants before the monster's immense cranium collided violently with the Zhanxian, it vanished entirely. Hayate and the crew slowly opened their eyes to realize that indeed, they were still alive. They were all shuddering madly, however, but now laughing with joy.

"I knew it!" Kiro screamed madly. "I knew they were just screwing with our heads!"

At that moment, elegant, cursive writing appeared in the air in front of Suyin, as though the world was a canvas and an invisible pen was drawing out words in gold. When the process ended and everyone gathered to see what had been written, she read the letters aloud while sheathing Guofan.

"You… suck out loud."

Sukai scowled. "Well, who's in charge of that?" A second later, the writing shrunk and attached itself to her left arm, whose sleeve she'd rolled up to not get wet while waterbending, in the likeness of a tattoo, causing her to growl ever so faintly out of anger. "Someone's gonna wish they didn't get up this morning…" Water began to rise around her out of instinct. Hayate sighed and shrugged his shoulders, and although Sukai's childish fit of anger had managed to lighten the mood a bit, a dark tension still loomed in the air- who were their assailants that were so strong?

Cautiously, and after discussion, Suyin agreed that parking the Zhanxian and exploring the island was the most intelligent course of action. After all, they were still technically being pursued by Lai, even though he hadn't been in sight for a while. Sukai was still fuming, trying to wash away the new blemish on her skin. Nervously, they all took their first steps off onto the land, then noticed that this lake was a pocket of water beneath the island's level- the only way to go from here was uphill. That having been said, Kiro pointed at a shimmering black pathway, which they began to climb. It was an intricately paved path that had not the slightest crack or blemish despite being made of pure marble. Hayate noticed this as well and, just to test a theory, slammed his boot down with what would normally be enough strength to make the mildest dent at least, but nothing.

When they reached the top, they couldn't help but marvel at the sight.

The harbour where they parked their ship was, as they'd suspected, a very small subsection of a huge, shimmering lake-esque body of seawater enclosed by land that would gradually rise, lined with marble paths much like the one they just made use of. At the top of the hill were hundreds of homes that were identical in colour but different in structure. A few different buildings stood out as well, but they could only guess what those would be.

"Welcome to Kumadori Shima."

The voice they heard was strong, but hinted at age ever so slightly. They turned around and saw a man with short-cut but spiky white hair and a deep navy robe marked with strange gray wisps drawn on the front. Everyone immediately took on an offensive pose, holding weapons and water at arm's length, pointed menacingly at the man.

The man sighed and waved his finger in the air, and just as quickly the kusarigama, Guofan and the water surrounding Kiro and Sukai vanished into midair. Terrified, the four let out innocent gasps, yet within seconds Suyin once more became somewhat collected. Hayate was second to notice that something was amiss- he still had his hands clutched as though his scythes were in his palms, as Suyin with Guofan. They couldn't close their fists if they wanted to, for there was certainly something there, but they couldn't feel the comfort of their armaments more than they could see them.

"I'm not hostile, you know."

The man waved again, and the water and weapons reappeared exactly where they'd been before. "There's no such thing as a bad country or a good country- only good people and bad people. You shouldn't judge people quite so prematurely."

None of them let down their guard, though, so he continued speaking. "I suppose then, perhaps, an explanation is in order?" Their weapons were still, though, still held out at arm's length. "I'm warning you, though, if you're going to show signs of defiance such as these, I'll take action." Suyin was slowly about to put down her weapon when Sukai leaned down and rose, both of her arms perfectly parallel. Water surrounded the man and she wrapped him up with a vicious flail of her appendages. "Now you can explain." The girl answered, frustrated.

"My." The elder yawned and snapped his fingers, then, just as quickly, vanished. Sukai, terrified, dropped the water and summoned it again to her sides. Everyone was once more prepared to fight. "What the Hell is up with this place?!" Hayate asked, infuriated, bringing his Kusarigama closer to him.

"There must be a trick to this. Don't panic- We'll figure it out."

Spontaneously, the man reappeared times eight, and began closing in on the Waterbenders and weapon-wielders, his palms outstretched. As the figures neared, Sukai tried to cut one of their tendons with a slicing water knife, but watched in disdain as it simply went through him. "They're all illusions!" She screamed. "We don't have to worry about being hit! We're okay!"

Just as the words left her mouth, one of the men kicked her in the side and she let out a groan as, even though she didn't budge, felt a splitting pain in her ribs. Suyin looked back to ensure she was alright, and didn't notice another enemy sneak in between and appear in front of her, flicking her in between the eyes, summoning a sharp pinching sensation, forcing her to curse. With Guofan in her clutch, she slashed and watched in disdain as the weapon just cut through air. When the figure counterattacked, though, she definitely felt pain as though she'd truly been hit.

What could possibly be accountable for this?

It didn't take long for the eight invincible foes to surround them entirely and force the four into submission by tying a rope around them, entirely destroying their mobility. It was at this moment that the doppelgangers all dissipated and the original man reappeared not far away, sighing.

"You could at least have the courtesy to allow me to apologize on behalf of our citizen guard. I swear, this is precisely why we choose not to associate with you ruffians." He sighed again and took a seat on a nearby stone. "Now that you're not going anywhere, I'll take my time and explain, thank you very much."

He inhaled deeply and began his tale.


	14. The Colourbenders

.chapter fourteen, the colourbenders

"Kumadori Shima, as you've certainly noticed, is not an island quite like the others." He began, speaking slowly and pensively, his eyes fixed on a certain point in the horizon. Sukai grumbled. "Well, we've about noticed that by now, I think." Suyin nudged her with her elbow, which was the only part of her that retained mobility in their chains. Kiro and Hayate were squirming nervously now, but the man continued speaking and ignored their futile attempt at escape nevertheless.

"It's home to the Colourbenders." He yawned and averted his gaze to now focus on the air just ahead of his nose. There, now appeared a small swallow chirping and flapping its wings, flying away. "Colourbending is a most wonderful art…" He seemed astonishingly distant, as though reflecting on something that had happened many moons ago. "I won't bore you with too much history, but back in the days of old, when men in the Fire Nation couldn't firebend, and there weren't many, they would get killed by the government. It was a subtle and clever subterfuge, for every death was conveniently covered up by an accident- but the essential remained that if you couldn't firebend you would die. And that is what infuriated many people. Certain people were so against that rule that they left and found this island, establishing themselves here. Slowly, people with sons who couldn't firebend joined them along with their families, and a whole new, albeit humble, nation was created."

He seemed to reminisce deeply, savouring fond memories. "Eventually, one of those children discovered a power of their own- the ability to colourbend. No one is quite sure how it came about and how this child created it, but the essential remains that it was created. Soon, colourbending was an art taught to every other boy and girl on the island- adults generally couldn't learn it because they could firebend, and a particular trait of colourbending remains that anyone who can bend an element can never learn it, period." He sighed. "And so, as they procreated, firebending genes slowly vanished from our race and no one on this island today has any firebending ability- but they can all colourbend." He stopped for a moment, staring off into space, then breaking out into hysterical laughter that made the four prisoners incredibly nervous. He composed himself slowly and continued:

"Colourbending relies on creating illusions and essentially fooling the opponent's brain. Illusions can be anything from elaborate dragons as you've seen to blow darts and knives, or birds and snakes. Of course, while none of these are real… You noticed the pain when my doubles attacked you? Your body actually processed their attack as a real strike, because of the elaborate nature of the colourbending. Had that dragon collapsed into you, your body would have felt the pain that would have been felt from a dragon's impact- in a way, all it takes is a bit of creativity and colourbending can be a most… devastating art."

He looked down at them for the first time in minutes.

"That rope isn't real, by the way."

They looked surprised, and tried to push against it with all of the force in their bodies, but even the powerful Suyin couldn't make it budge. Their limbs refused to move, their brain believing that they were actually bound.

"That's incredible…" Kiro thought out loud, realizing how real the ropes felt. How would they counteract this if their brain was actually under such a spell? Regardless of what they knew, their mind was convinced of something else, and their body refused to move.

"You'll have a bit more explaining to do, I'm afraid."

Suyin stood face to face with the man, extending Guofan to almost reach his shoulder.

Her eyes were closed.

"Not quite so dangerous now, are we?" Kiro understood immediately and closed his eyes, then stood up, breaking through the nonexistent bind, and taking a few steps forward. He was promptly followed by Sukai, then Hayate, leaving the ropes in a heap on the floor. They all stood forward, holding weapons at the ready, although Suyin and Kiro still sealed their eyes shut.

The man smiled broadly and bowed. "How clever of you! After all, that is the correct method of avoiding many types of colourbending, but don't underestimate us quite that much. However, since I've nothing else to do at the moment-" He turned around and shook his hand. A small shack appeared beside him just as soon. "Feel free to be our guests on Kumadori Shima for as long as you'd like- you're simply bound by our laws, but otherwise, you can do whatever you like."

Suyin and Kiro opened their eyes, surprised. "That's it? You're kidding, right?" She asked. "A second ago you pretty much wanted us dead. Now, you're just welcoming us with open arms? " The man shrugged. "To be perfectly frank… Kumadori Shima can become a dull place when you've been here as long as Il. It was nice to see a few new faces." He extended a palm. "Ohaten Umi, a pleasure to meet you…"

Suyin accepted it with caution, but it soon appeared that the man's motives weren't all that questionable in the slightest. Perhaps he was just bored, as earlier stated. With a flourish and a farewell, Ohaten vanished and left the four to their own devices.

An awkward silence loomed over them- for a first time, none of them had the slightest idea of what to do. Sukai began to whistle, but otherwise the silence could have been deafening. In fact, the only sound at all was that of Suyin's pocket slowly beginning to incinerate from the heat released by the flame trapped inside its glass sphere. Kiro, noticing it, quickly reacted, drawing water from the grass and flinging it towards the woman's clothing. Suyin screamed and adeptly moved out of the way, causing Kiro to drop the liquid in surprise.

"It's… It's just that…" Suyin laughed awkwardly as the others stared at her- why would anyone possibly want their clothes in ashes? "Fire-style training!" She chuckled again. "Got to get used to burns! Burns… Are painful! And they strengthen the soul and body and _look!_" She pointed behind the other three, who turned around out of curiosity, then began running in a mad sprint, across the grassy meadows and hills. Upon facing her fleeing backside, Kiro cursed in frustration.

"She's going to the ship! She's gonna take it and run, come on, we've got to follow her!" He began chasing after Suyin, but fell flat on his face when small tentacles of water rose from the grass and bound his ankles. He groaned and slowly pushed himself up, his shirt laced with dew. He turned around and spat. "What the Hell was that for, Sukai?" But she just pointed. "Suyin's running _away _from the harbour. She's not taking the boat, stupid. We should probably make the most of this too, right? We're going to that Haifon place, and if those people are as dangerous as the ones that attacked Sakuramura, then, well, you're screwed with your skills."

"Or lack thereof." Hayate mumbled. Kiro heard him, scowled, and blasted a small whip of water that he quickly froze at Hayate's arm in the likeness of a knife, and they all just watched with a sickening stare as it sliced through flesh and muscle. It wasn't until blood began pouring down that he released a yelp and Sukai spat at Kiro, who just looked stunned. Having lost his focus, Kiro watched as his knife became nothing but a trickle stream of water and ran down Hayate's arm, diluting crimson. It began to drip copiously to the ground, yet the boys both just stared. Sukai eventually took an initiative and punched Kiro between the eyes, making him fall to the ground in shock, then spun around, drawing water to surround Hayate's wound in an aquatic tourniquet. She ran over to it and inspected it through the transparent wrapping and saw that it had actually entirely pierced the muscle and gone from one end of it to the other, although it was narrow enough to avoid bone. Her only knowledge of healing involved pressure points, and that would be of no use now…

She looked down at her already disgraceful kimono and tore off part of its right sleeve, drenching it in the circumference of water, and tying it tightly for a wet bandage. Blood soaked through, and his limb fell limply to his side.

"Well, are you okay?" She inquired frantically. Hayate just smiled slightly. "I'll… I'll be fine. You guys go train or something." He turned around and began walking slowly towards a nearby house.

When he pulled the door open and walked in, Sukai turned around to face Kiro, who seemed less stunned than he did a moment ago. "Loser had it coming." Was all he said, then turned around to head to a small body of water at the foot of the hill. "Is the princess going to come, or should I hold her hand?"

Sukai growled. Despite how nervous she was for Hayate, the only way to teach Kiro a lesson would be by administering a taste of his own medicine. "Fine, let's be that way and see who gets to the bottom first, jerk."

She crouched and extended her hands, weight on her back leg, then brought her palms down abruptly. A path, just wide enough for her but long enough to reach the bottom of the hill, was formed of ice. She inhaled deeply and sat down, beginning to slide at an incredibly rate, passing Kiro in a gust of wind.

"Why you…"

He quickly summoned a barricade of ice to block her way while running down as quickly as he could manage, but in a single swift shake of a wrist she vaporized the obstacle and created a tripwire in front of Kiro's feet, and he began rolling down towards the pond.

Sukai jumped off the ice just in time to land with grace, as Kiro rolled less-than-elegantly into the lake with a splash. He surfaced, spitting water out, when Sukai froze a block of water around him and using the liquid surrounding his sarcophagus, shot him out and onto the land. Kiro squirmed and the girl leaned down for eye contact, squinting and whispering.

"You're annoying."

Hayate limped inside the house, and when he was confident that Sukai and Kiro were gone, he ran out quickly and into the shack that Ohaten had previously materialized for them, slammed the door shut and roared in pain. He then looked down at his blood-soaked arm and the feeling of emptiness, the hole in his flesh. He screamed again, clutching the injury, and didn't notice the other figure in the room.

Slowly footsteps approached and only when he stopped yelling did he hear them. His heart skipped a beat and he slowly turned backwards, only to release a heavy sigh of relief at the sight of a familiar face: Ohaten.

"You seem to be on excellent terms with your comrades, or am I mistaken?" Hayate sighed as the man leaned down to inspect the wound and cringed as the bandage was slowly pulled open. Blood began leaking out and Ohaten closed it again, sighing, then changing the subject. "You're not a bender, unless I'm incorrect, are you?" Hayate shook his head. "Would you be interested in learning to colourbend?"

Hayate's heart skipped a beat. Be able to colourbend? "But… I don't have colourbending ancestors or anything-" "Did you completely forget what I said? Colourbenders don't have Firebending in their blood, do they? I'm willing to assume that as long as you have no bending skill at all, regardless of element, you can become a colourbender."

Hayate grinned from ear to ear, almost forgetting his injury. This could be a perfect opportunity to give Kiro what the frustrating bastard deserved. He extended his good arm to shake hands with Ohaten's. "The name is Hayate Tanryoku, and it's a privilege to learn from you, Ohaten, sir."

A voice came from behind him as the man in front of him dematerialized and disappeared.

"That's very polite, but I'm over here, Hayate."

Suyin sped across the fields, holding the string with the flaming glass sphere at arm's length to avoid any serious burns, but with every step it grew more and more bright. She continued running until, in a painful flash, the light turned a vivid emerald and she stopped as it began soothing her burning hands, sighing deeply.

It was at this moment that she noticed a run-down house near her current location and inhaled deeply, taking a few steps towards it, attaching the glowing glass ball to her hip. She knew that what would be waiting for her behind that door would be dangerous, but it was a risk she was prepared to take.

A risk years in the making.


End file.
